Gomenasai
by o.O Kumiko O.o
Summary: Who knew things would turn out like it did? Is it fate's way of giving them a chance to make things right or just to rub it in their faces? What if Sakura's life ended up in their hands? How will Naruto and the gang over come this? NaruXSaku
1. Chapter 1

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing:** **SasuXSaku, NaruXSaku, InoXSaku SaiXSaku ShikaXSaku ect ect. All of them are friendship pairings, some might turn into romance.**

**I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why i write such sad stories? I do not know.  
**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**XxXxXx**

"SASUKE!" Naruto's voice echoed as Sasuke had knocked out Sai. Naruto coughed out blood from the wound he received. Sasuke soon picked up Naruto by the collar.

Sakura just stood in shocked. She was the only one who had a chance to stop Sasuke. She looked down at Sai as she healed him.

"H-Hag what are you doing?" Sai whispered. He watched as his vision became blurry, but he would tell that Sakura was putting on her gloves.

"I'm going to stop him" Sakura said as she sent charka to her fists and charged at him. Sasuke felt someone charging at him from the back. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Let him go!" Sakura shouted.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. Sakura sent her fist flying as Sasuke quickly dodged it, letting go of Naruto in the process. Sakura's hand had hit a boulder as it shattered.

Sasuke punched Sakura in the stomach. Sakura's eyes widened, he was holding back on her. She knew he could have hit harder than that. Her eyes darkened. Did he still think she was weak?

Sasuke turned around to face his attention to Sakura. He frowned, she was about to fall off a cliff. He headed towards her as Sai tried to get up.

"D-Don't touch her traitor!" Sai said.

Naruto's eyes widened and turned red.

'**The girl is getting in the way kid. She's a burden'**

Sasuke had grabbed Sakura by the hand and lifted her up before she fell. "You never change. You're still weak and a burden to everyone. Even your teammates and enemy" Sasuke whispered in her ear as he threw her.

Kakashi had moved and caught her while dodging Kabuto's attack. Yamato was fighting Orochimaru.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Kakashi asked. Sakura didn't say anything as she got up. She was letting Sasuke's words get to her, just like before.

Sakura looked to see Naruto and Sasuke at it. Kakashi's eyes widened as Sasuke had taken out Chidori and Naruto had the Rasegan in his palm.

"T-They're going to kill each other" Yamato said as he ran up to Kakashi.

"Where's Orochimaru?" Kakashi asked.

"He disappeared" Yamato said. The two saw a blur of pink pass by them.

"Sakura!" Yamato called out. Sakura ran to Naruto and Sasuke as they charged at each other.

Sasuke saw Sakura running towards them. Fuck, this was just like the time up on the rooftop. Naruto seemed to see her too. Kabuto took this as a chance to kill the Konoha medic. With a deadly form of charka surrounding his hands, he charged at Sakura.

Sasuke and Naruto stopped their fighting to see Kabuto heading to Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke headed to Sakura as Naruto tackled Sakura to the ground taking the hit for her. Sakura's eyes widened as Naruto coughed out blood on her. Sasuke had put his sword against Kabuto's neck.

"You were never ordered to kill Sakura" Sasuke said with no feelings. Kabuto frowned as he removed his bloody hand out of Naruto's back. Naruto fell to his knees as he looked at Sasuke. He was standing next to Kabuto and Orochimaru.

Sasuke just stared at Naruto and Sakura as he disappeared into flames. Naruto had ran and tried to stop him, but ended up grabbing air. They had lost Sasuke once again. Anger had filled his body and mind. Soon his anger was directed to Sakura. Kakashi and Yamato had helped Sai up as they walked to Naruto and Sakura.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered as she tried to heal him but he slapped her hand away.

"Don't touch me!" Naruto growled. Sakura's eyes widened.

"W-What?"

"It's your entire fault!" Naruto shouted. He had his fists by his sides. "If it weren't for you, we could have had Sasuke here with us, but you had to get in the way! You're a burden to the team! 

That's why Sasuke left!" Naruto breathed heavily as he turned around. Sakura had gotten up. She felt so shaky. First it was Sasuke, now Naruto?

"I would have expected this from anyone but you…" Sakura whispered as she walked away. Kakashi frowned at Naruto's actions. Sai had walked up to Sakura and put an arm around her. He could feel her trembling. This was a symptom of crying. He remembered reading this with Sakura before. She wanted to cry, so why wasn't she? Wasn't that a good way to relive sadness?

"Naruto, you shouldn't have said that" Kakashi said as he faced Naruto. "Yamato, go and take Sai and Sakura back to Konoha. Naruto and I will have a little talk" Kakashi said with a smile. Yamato nodded as he ordered the other two to go with him.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said. Naruto had grabbed Kakashi into a hug as he cried.

"I-I didn't mean to." Naruto said. "I would never say that to her. It's just that I was so mad we lost Sasuke."

"I understand. But if you continue to act like that again when we face Sasuke, not only will you lose Sasuke, but probably Sakura as well" Kakashi said.

"What should I do?" Naruto said looking at the ground.

"Apologize" Kakashi said. "It's not too late"

"But what if she doesn't accept me? What if I lose her?" Naruto said worrying as he put his hands to his face.

"This is Sakura, Naruto. You know her better than anyone else. You'd know she will accept you no matter what. And if you lose her, you know you can get her back. That's who you are Naruto; a person who brings miracles to people's lives." Kakashi said putting his hand on Naruto's

**XxXxXx**

The trip to Konoha was quiet as they could hear Sakura's attempts to stop crying. Yamato just frowned as Sai would keep looking at Sakura.

"Don't think about what Dickless said Ugly" Sai said. "He doesn't mean it"

Sakura didn't respond as they reached the gates. Kotetsu and Izumo had greeted them as Sakura ignored them. Sai had also ignored them while going after Sakura. Yamato had stopped and greeted them back.

"Teenagers…" Yamato chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Why are you following me?" Sakura asked noticed Sai trying to catch up with her.

"I don't want you ruining the village's eyes with your ugliness. You make yourself look uglier when you cry" Sai said as he took out a handkerchief and handed it to Sakura. Sakura took it as she smiled.

"Thank you…" She said. Sai gave her a fake smile.

"There, now you don't look that bad" Sakura didn't hit him, knowing he was only trying to cheer her up.

"Hey, I need to deliver something to Ino. Do you want to come with me?" She asked. Sai nodded as they went to Sakura's apartment and picked up a present.

"I need to take a quick shower, give me a couple minutes." Sakura said as she went to her room.

"Take your time" Sai said as he looked around Sakura's house.

This was his first time here. He looked at the pictures in the living room. There was a picture of the old team seven; the one with Sasuke in it. He had never seen Sakura with long hair before. She looked cute with it, but she looked better with shorter hair. He studied her face. Was that what it looked like to be truly happy? The way Sakura smiled now, it was nothing compared to the pictures. The picture next to that was the new team seven. He soon looked around the house looking at pictures.

On the wall there were many pictures with Sakura and her family. Looking at the biggest picture first, it was one of Sakura when she was little. She was standing next to a woman who was crouching down next to her. Sai assumed this was her mother. She had red hair and blue eyes. On her other side was a strong looking man. He had white hair and green eyes. Was that how Sakura got pink hair?

There were other pictures with friends. There were pictures of her and Ino when they were little, pictures of girls' nights; pictures of her with the Hokage and Shizune, new team seven at a beach, ect.

Finally the door of Sakura's clicked opened.

"I hope I didn't take too long" Sakura said.

"I was just looking at the pictures, you have a lot around your house" Sai commented. Sakura laughed.

"Every picture has a memory I treasure dearly" Sakura said. Sai looked down examining her outfit. He then noticed the blue box in her hand.

"What's that?" Sai asked.

"It's a present" Sakura said.

"Obviously" Sai said as Sakura led them out. Sakura laughed as she held the present close.

"Today is Ino's and my anniversary. Today was the day we first became friends"

"Naruto and I have been friends with you for a few years, but we don't get any presents" Sai said.

"It's only because Ino was my very first friend in my whole life. Before her, I was a loner. So we celebrate this day. She still thinks I'm on the mission, so I can surprise her"

"Maybe I should come and observe this friendship" Sai said to himself. Sakura smiled as she pulled him to Ino's.

"Yeah, that would be good" Sakura said.

The two had finally made it to Ino's as Ino opened the door. Sai was hiding the present.

"Oh hey" Ino said. Sakura noted that Ino sounded pissed.

"You okay?" Sakura asked.

"No" Ino growled. "What are you doing here?"

"I have to give you something an-"

"Hang on" Ino interrupted her. Sakura sighed.

"I wonder what's wrong with her" Sakura asked out loud. Sai just shrugged.

"Forehead, come here" Ino called. "Can you bring these boxes to the living room for me? I'm moving out of this place and into a new apartment."

"Sure" Sakura said as Ino stacked up boxes in her arms. Sakura gulped as she tried to walk to the living room.

"Sakura, watch out" Sai said.

"Huh?" but it was too late as Sakura bumped into a vase.

CRASH

The boxes fell to the floor and so did a vase.

"What the hell!" Ino shouted as she ran to her living room. Ino saw the broken vase as she began to cry.

"Look what you did!" Ino shouted at Sakura. "This belonged to Asuma-sensei! This is the only thing I have of his! You're so useless, why was I ever friends with such a person" Sakura's 

mouth dropped as Sai narrowed his eyes. First it was that traitor, then Naruto, now Ino, how many times was Sakura going to get hurt today.

"I'm sorry" Sakura cried as she ran away. Sai only frowned at her as he dropped the present to the floor and kicked it towards Ino.

"It was a present from Sakura. Happy anniversary" Sai said as he walked out. Ino's eyes widened. Today was her and Sakura's best friend anniversary and she had ruined it for the both of them.

**XxXxXx**

That was it! She was tired of getting hurt. The closest people to her had hurt her. Sakura had found herself at the Hokage's office. Sakura knocked on the door.

"Come in"

Sakura opened the door as she entered. Tsunade was working on paperwork with a bottle of sake next to her. Shizune was organizing folders on the floor.

"I heard about your mission" Tsunade said. "I'm sorry you guys weren't able to get the Uchih-"

"I want to go on another mission" Tsunade had stopped working on her paper as she looked up at Sakura.

"You just came back from a mission an-"

Again Sakura interrupted her. "I don't care! Just get me out of this village" Shizune flinched at Sakura's tone of voice. Never had she yelled at Tsunade. No one did and got away with it.

Tsunade looked into Sakura's eyes to see it full of hurt and sadness. Tsunade's eyes narrowed as Shizune gulped.

The Hokage had taken out a piece of paper and wrote on it. "Very well, you will be going on a mission with Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuga, and Rock Lee. The upcoming heir of the Fire country had been kidnapped a few weeks ago by rouge ninja. It is your job to bring him back safe and sound" Tsunade stamped the paper. "You will be leaving tomorrow morning." Soon Tsunade got up. "Shizune, stop filing, us girls are going out to eat"

"Y-Yes, Tsunade-sama" Shizune said as she got up. Tsunade put her arms around Shizune and Sakura.

"Let's get drunk!" Tsunade said happily. Sakura smiled. Tsunade always knew how to cheer her up. She was like another mother to her since her family died a few years ago on a mission to affiliate Orochimaru's lair and gather information.

**XxXxXx**

"Tsunade-sama! Sakura is underage!" Shizune said as Tsunade had poured Sakura a glass of sake. Shizune was like an older sister to her. A family is what they were to her.

"Oh loosen up Shizune. Sakura is troubled am I right?" Sakura nodded. "The best thing to forget your problems is sake"

Shizune sighed as she waited for her food to come. She looked at Sakura to see her looking at her drink sadly.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Shizune asked. Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from crying. She took a deep breath as she told her everything that happened.

"They're in for it now. Especially that Uchiha brat and Uzumaki! Never showed respect to me ever" Tsunade said.

"I would have never expected Naruto-kun or Ino-san to say such a thing. Aren't they your best friends? So you wanted to avoid them by taking this mission huh?" Shizune said as she patted Sakura on the head.

"Sorry…" Sakura said. "It must make me look like a coward"

"Nonsense, at times, even I needed to run away to forget my problems." Tsunade said as she thought back out Dan and her brother.

"Here are your orders" The waiter said. The girls thanked him as they ate.

"Itadakimasu"

"Have you looked in here?" a voice said loudly.

"No Dickless"

"T-That's Naruto…" Sakura said. Tsunade made a few hand signs as she touched Sakura on the forehead.

"Tsunade-baachan! Have you seen Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"No I haven't" Tsunade said. Naruto's eyes looked at the person next to Shizune.

"Who's the chick?" Naruto asked. He looked to see a girl with long raven hair and brown eyes.

"That's Shizune's cousin" Tsunade simply said.

"Oh, nice to meet you" Naruto smiled. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki"

Sakura didn't know what to say.

"Her name is Kana." Shizune immediately said. "Sorry, my cousin is really shy"

"It's no problem" Naruto said.

"Let's go dickless, the hag isn't here" Sai said as the two walked out.

"What did you do Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"I just changed Sakura's appearance" With a snap Sakura turned back to normal.

"Well, I guess we're done eating" Sakura said.

"Your check ma'am" the waiter said, giving her the small black book.

"Put it on Danzou" Tsunade grinned. Shizune sighed as Sakura giggled.

"Yes ma'am."

**XxXxXx**

The next morning Sakura went to the gates meeting up with Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee.

"Sakura-san! You're so kind, greeting us before we leave" Lee said with hearts around him.

"No Lee. Haruno-san is coming with us on the mission"

"No need for formality Neji. We've known each other for years. You should be calling me Sakura by now" Sakura smiled.

"Okay Har-Sakura-san" Neji corrected himself.

"Sakura will be our medic on this mission." Shikamaru said. "Are we all set?"

Sakura turned around to face her village. _'I will not be a burden. I will prove myself useful'_

**XxXxXx**

"There they are" Shikamaru said as they hid behind the trees. From above they watched the rouge ninja walking but there was no boy with them.

Shikamaru made a hand sign to go in as they attack.

Neji beat up one of them. "Where's the Daimyo's son?"

"Like I'd tell you" Neji had knocked them out.

"Where's the kid?" Sakura asked. The leader didn't tell them anything. So she took out a senbon. "Not talking huh? You see this needle. It is full of poison. Once it gets inside of you, your organs will slowly disintegrate. I'm sure you wouldn't want that now, would you?" Neji watched as he raised an eye brow. He never saw Sakura like this before.

Sakura brought the senbon close to the leader's neck as he shouted.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just don't kill me" pathetic.

"Go on" Sakura said waiting.

"We were hired to kidnap the boy" the leader confessed. Shikamaru and Lee had finished fighting the others as they went to listen.

"Who hired you?" Shikamaru asked. The leader didn't say anything. So Sakura shook him.

"Who hired you?" Sakura asked.

"A-Akatsuki…" the leader said as he was knocked out by Neji.

"Good job Sakura-san" Lee praised.

"Why would Akatsuki want the boy?" Sakura asked.

"Probably to cause disruption in Konoha" Neji said.

"Maybe…" Shikamaru said. "But how are we going to find Akatsuki?"

Sakura walked away from the group as she bit her thumb, drawing out blood. She traced it on her right palm and she made a few hand seals and touched the ground. Smoke formed as a dog was summoned.

"Sakura-chan!" The dog said.

"It talks?" Neji said.

"This is Pakkun's son" Sakura said. "Kakashi-sensei gave him to me as a gift. Isn't he cute?!. Hey I need you to help me find a boy" Shikamaru took out a shirt as he gave it to the dog to sniff.

"They're around here" the dog said.

"Good boy" Sakura said giving him a treat.

"Let's go" Shikamaru said as they went where the dog took them. After an hour, they reached a boulder.

"A boulder?" Lee said touching it.

"It could be a genjutsu" Shikamaru said. Neji activated his byakugan.

"The base is within the boulder" Neji said. Sakura nodded as she took out her gloves.

"Leave it to me" Sakura said as she took a few steps back. Positioning herself, she charged at the boulder with a charka-filled punch.

The guys watched in shocked as Sakura smiled at them.

"Come on let's go" Sakura said, entering first.

"Sakura-san, you're so cool!" Lee said. The group finally reached the entrance of the base as Shikamaru opened it.

"It looks bigger than it seems. The quicker we find the boy the better. Split up but keep your mics on" Shikamaru said.

"Got it!" Lee said as on the other's ear part it was loud.

"Not again" Neji said covering his ear.

"L-Lee, you're t-too loud" Sakura said.

"What?!" Everyone shook again as Shikamaru pointed to his mic. Lee's eyes widened as he lowered his mic.

"Sorry" He said. Everyone shook their head.

"Okay, if you happen to get caught by an Akatsuki member and you know you can't fight them, run and try to find us."

"There shouldn't be that much Akatsuki members. There should only be the leader, the blue head one, Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Tobi, and Zetsu." Sakura said.

"Not that much, she says" Shikamaru told himself. "Go" The group split up as Neji went west, Lee went east, Sakura went north, and Shikamaru with south.

Sakura looked around at where she was. There seemed to be at least three or four rooms here. She hoped it wasn't any of the Akatsuki's rooms.

"Art is a bang!" Sakura's heart jumped when she heard an explosion as she hid in the shadows. She watched as a man with long blond hair walked out of a room. "I'm so hungry, yeah" She watched as he went to her right.

"What was that?" Neji asked.

"It was Deidara. I almost got caught"

"Are you okay, Sakura-san?" Lee's voice came.

"I'm fine"

"Keep searching" Shikamaru said.

Sakura nodded to herself as she looked into Deidara's room. All she saw was drawings and clay on a table, but no boy.

She sighed. She heard the door closed as she jumped. Turning around, she faced a man with blue eyes and blond hair.

"What do we have here, yeah?" Sakura shivered as she felt Deidara move her a few strands of her hair. "Do you think I wouldn't notice you?"

"Don't touch me" Sakura said. "Where is Yuuki, the Daimyo's son?"

"I wouldn't act like that if I were you, especially when you're locked in a room with an Akatsuki member, yeah" Deidara said.

"I'll scream" Sakura said.

"And get all the members attention? You're lucky that you ended up in my room, yeah" Deidara smiled. "I'm the nicest out of all the members. I won't hurt you" He soon cornered Sakura as he put his arms on both her side. "Maybe we can make a deal"

"Deal?" Sakura repeated.

Deidara nodded. "If you get me something from another Akatsuki member's room for me, then I will let you and your friends out with the boy. If you forget, I will kill you and your friends, yeah"

"What do you want me to do?" Sakura asked. Deidara smirked as he placed a kiss on Sakura's neck before whispering in her ear.

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**Whoa, a lot of stuff happened already. I just love adding Deidara to my stories. He's so awesome. How did you guys like that as the first chapter? I hope you guys enjoyed it. I've had this story in mind for a while, and it's about time I wrote it. Please review everyone, it makes me happy.**

**-Kumiko**


	2. Chapter 2

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Don't touch me" Sakura said. "Where is Yuuki, the Daimyo's son?" _

"_I wouldn't act like that if I were you, especially when you're locked in a room with an Akatsuki member, yeah" Deidara said._

"_I'll scream" Sakura said. _

"_And get all the members attention? You're lucky that you ended up in my room, yeah" Deidara smiled. "I'm the nicest out of all the members. I won't hurt you" He soon cornered Sakura as he put his arms on both her side. "Maybe we can make a deal"_

"_Deal?" Sakura repeated._

_Deidara nodded. "If you get me something from another Akatsuki member's room for me, then I will let you and your friends out with the boy. If you forget, I will kill you and your friends, yeah"_

"_What do you want me to do?" Sakura asked. Deidara smirked as he placed a kiss on Sakura's neck before whispering in her ear._

XxXxXx

Sakura's eyes widened when she thought about what Deidara had just told her.

"Well?" Deidara asked.

"Fine" Sakura said as Deidara led her to a room.

"This is as far as I will take you" Deidara said. Sakura nodded as she walked into the room. It was dark. She reached in her bag for a flashlight as the light from the hallway helped as well.

Looking around she spotted a drawer as she went to it. Opening it, all she found was scrolls and more scrolls. Opening one, she read something about curses. Sakura put the scroll in her bag as she looked at others. Another one talked about Orochimaru and his secrets. She should show this to Tsunade-sama. She put the scroll in her bag as well. There were several scrolls, and they all seemed important. As she was about to grab another scroll, she heard something move in the room.

"Sakura-san" her communicator said.

"Yes, Neji?"

"I had a dead end, but as I was looking around with my Byakugan, you seemed to have found the boy"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Yuuki, is that you?" Sakura called out.

"H-How do you know my name?" Yuuki asked as he came out of the shadows.

"I'm from the leaf village Konoha. I'm here to take you home!" Sakura said. The boy seemed to be no younger than five.

"I was scared. They talk about using me to get a fox?" Yuuki said as he hugged Sakura tight.

'_Fox? He must be talking about Kyuubi…which means they were trying to cause a distraction to get Naruto!'_ Sakura thought. '_If they're going to go after Naruto, they will have to go through me!'_

"Come on, let's go" Sakura said as she put the boy on her back and ran as fast as she could. She met up with the others in the cave.

"Good job Sakura" Shikamaru said. Yuuki hid closer to Sakura.

"Don't worry Yuuki, these are my friends. They will also protect you" Sakura said as Yuuki nodded. As they headed out of the base, they were met with the sound of explosions.

"Damn it, I forgot" Sakura said.

"_If you get me something from another Akatsuki member's room for me, then I will let you and your friends out with the boy. If you forget, I will kill you and your friends, yeah"_

"You lied, yeah" Deidara said. Behind him were Tobi and Kisame.

"Run" Shikamaru said as they tried to escape. Ending up near a cliff, the four stopped to battle.

"Yuuki, go and hide" Sakura ordered. Yuuki nodded as he hid under a bush.

Deidara went to fight Sakura and Shikamaru as Tobi fought Neji and Kisame fought Lee.

Sakura sent a kunai aiming Deidara as he ducked. It cut a few strands of his hair.

"You cut my hair!" Deidara shouted.

Sakura soon jumped up as she punched Deidara down to the ground. Shikamaru took this as a chance to trap him.

"Shit" Deidara said as he couldn't move his body. Sakura took out a poisoned kunai and hit Deidara.

"Deidara-sempai!" Tobi called out as he was running away from Neji. "Help Tobi!"

"Not now Tobi!" Deidara shouted.

"But Tobi is a good boy!" Deidara sighed.

"Fight me seriously!" Neji shouted, not amused that his enemy was acting like a child. Tobi stared at Neji as a purple butterfly passed by him.

"Hey, look a butterfly" Tobi smiled as he tried to catch it. Neji growled. How did this guy get into Akatsuki? Neji spun around.

"64 palms" Neji said as he attacked all of Tobi's charka points. Tobi was knocked out as Lee was having a hard time fighting Kisame.

Yuuki came out of his hiding place as he found a scroll coming out of Kisame's jacket. Knocking Deidara out, Neji tried to help Lee but was hit by the Samehada. He felt his charka draining as Sakura hit Kisame in the face. Kisame was sent back a bit as he hit Shikamaru who tried to hit him with a kunai. Shikamaru too started to lose his charka.

Kisame soon appeared in front of Sakura as she hit the ground. The ground crumbled as Kisame smirked. "Not a smart move pinky" Kisame said as he disappeared. Sakura's eyes widened as Yuuki was in the way. Kisame appeared behind her, draining her charka. Pushing him away, Sakura moved as fast as she could, grabbing Yuuki as he fell. The only thing she could hold on to was a part of a rock that was breaking.

"Sakura!" Shikamaru said as he saw Kisame grabbed Deidara and Tobi. Sakura had thrown her backpack over as Yuuki clung on to her tight.

Shikamaru quickly tied a rope around his waist and held a child pouch on his chest as it started to drizzle. "You guys hold me as I get Sakura and Yuuki" Right as he said that, Sakura lost her grip as she fell along with part of the cliff. Shikamaru quickly dove to grab her.

Shikamaru grabbed Sakura by the waist as she quickly clipped the rope to her waist. She then helped put Yuuki on the child holder on Shikamaru's chest.

"I'm out of charka" Shikamaru said. "That sword drained almost all my charka."

"I still have some of my charka but not enough to help bring us up" Sakura said. Soon it began to rain harder.

"We have to hurry and bring them up. The rain is making everything worse" Neji said. Lee soon heard something start to rip.

"Neji-kun! The rope is ripping! Shikamaru and the others are going to fall" Lee exclaimed as Neji looked down at the rope. What Lee said was true, the rope was ripping. Just great!

Shikamaru looked up when he had also heard the sound. "Damn it, our weight is breaking the rope. What are going to do?" Shikamaru asked himself as Yuuki was crying.

"Shikamaru…" Sakura said through the rain. "If this goes on any longer, we're going to die…"

"I know that! There's a large chance we won't make it. But we have to bring Yuuki back up somehow"

"_**You never change. You're still weak and a burden to everyone. Even your teammates and enemy" **_

"_**It's your entire fault! If it weren't for you, we could have had Sasuke here with us, but you had to get in the way! You're a burden to the team! That's why Sasuke left!"**_

"_**You're so useless, why was I ever friends with such a person?"**_

Sasuke's, Naruto's, and Ino's words came back to her mind as her heart began to hurt. Soon she came up with a decision. Shikamaru's eyes widened as he saw what Sakura was doing.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked.

Sakura closed her eyes as he saw something rolling down her cheeks. He couldn't tell if it was her tears or the rain. "I'm always a burden, no matter how strong I get. Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino thinks I'm useless and a burden. That's all I am! A burden to everyone! I got us into this mess too…" While her left hand held the rope, she used her right hand to unclip herself from the rope.

"Stop!" Shikamaru said but Sakura didn't listen to him. Soon she let go. Moving quickly, Shikamaru caught her left wrist as his left hand held the rope. His grip was slipping due to the rain.

"Sakura! What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?" Shikamaru yelled at her. Sakura's eyes widened as she started to cry.

"Why did you save me? Let me go. That way you and Yuuki can be saved. Please tell everyone I'm sorry for being a burden to them. With me gone, everything will be better right?" Sakura soon reached for her left glove as she unbuttoned it. Everything was too much for Shikamaru.

"Pull Lee! We need to hurry!" Neji said. They could hear shouting from below, but couldn't make out the words. Soon a difference of weight was noticed.

"It stopped raining!" Neji said. Looking at the cliff, Shikamaru had gotten up and fell to his knees.

"We did it!" Lee cheered but Neji narrowed his eyes.

"Where's Sakura?" Neji asked. Shikamaru's eyes widened as tears formed. He quickly shut his eyes to stop the tears. This went unnoticed by Lee and Neji.

"No…" Lee whispered.

"It can't be!" Neji said as the two ran to the cliff only to see the blue ocean and no sign of Sakura anywhere. Yuuki looked up to see Shikamaru sobbing as a few tears formed in his eyes as well.

XxXxXx

A few weeks later, Shikamaru and his group returned to Konoha. They all decided to give their report to the Hokage together so they could tell them the tragic news.

Tsunade had heard knocking on her door.

"Come in" Tsunade said. She watched as Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee came in with the saddest looks she had ever seen.

"Mission was a success…" Neji said trying to keep his voice strong but failing.

"Very good! I knew you guys would do it" Tsunade praised. "I was getting worried, when you guys didn't come back on the first week"

"We had our charka drain" Neji said.

"This should have been an S-rank mission" Shikamaru said. Tsunade's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked.

"Akatsuki was involved. They were the ones who hired the rouge ninja to kidnap Yuuki. They thought that kidnapping Yuuki would cause a distraction to the leaf village giving them a chance to kidnap Naruto" Shikamaru said. "S-Sakura had found some scrolls while finding Yuuki"

Tsunade grabbed the bag as she looked through it. There were scrolls about curses. Her eyes soon widened when she saw the scrolls about Orochimaru and secrets.

"Tell Sakura I want to see her in my office immediately. Return her bag as well."

"We can't do that Hokage-sama" Lee said sobbing. Something in the pit of her stomach didn't like how this was going.

"What do you mean you can't?" Tsunade asked narrowing her eyes.

Neji took something out of his back pocket and threw it on the Hokage's desk.

Sakura's black glove…

"No…No…NO!" Tsunade cried out as she punched the window. She soon broke down crying as Shizune came in from hearing the noise. Shizune looked at Lee and Tsunade who was crying then to the black glove and backpack that belonged to no other than Sakura. It was then she knew what was going on.

"Sakura-chan…" Shizune whispered as she fell to her knees and cried. Ton-Ton went up to Shizune and tried to comfort her. Shikamaru and Neji started to explain everything that happened on the mission.

After a while, Tsunade got her composure back as she shakily stood up.

"C-Call in Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai; they will be going on a mission to try to find her or her…body" Tsunade said trying to keep herself together.

"R-Right away…" Shizune said as she wiped away her tears.

"How am I going to tell them…?" Tsunade said. "I want you three to come back to my office in four days. On Friday, if they haven't come back with her, we will tell Naruto and Yamanaka. Now get the hell out of my office" The three nodded as they left.

Tsunade sighed as she put her hand to her forehead. She was going to need a big bottle of sake and quick.

"Hey Tsunade" A voice said. Tsunade didn't have to look up to see who it was.

"Jiraiya"

"You look like you need a big bottle of sake" Jiraiya said as he went up to her and handed her a bottle of sake.

"Thanks…" Tsunade whispered.

"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked. "I've never seen you this down since Dan died…" Jiraiya noticed Tsunade's shoulders trembling.

"You want to talk about it?" Jiraiya asked as he put a hand on her shoulder. Tsunade immediately grabbed Jiraiya into a hug as she cried again. Jiraiya blushed as he hugged her back.

"I-It's Sakura…" Tsunade finally said.

"Your apprentice? What happened to her?" Jiraiya asked.

"J-Just wait till Hatake and the others get here. I'm going to need to tell them the story" Tsunade said as she grabbed the bottle of sake and poured herself a drink.

After a few minute, three people entered the room with Shizune.

"You needed us Hokage-sama?" Yamato asked.

"You guys will be going on a mission to find her or her body" Tsunade said.

"Her…body?" Kakashi questioned. Tsunade only made a body movement to tell them to look on her desk. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"T-That's Sakura's glove" Kakashi said.

Tsunade told them everything Shikamaru and Neji told her.

"N-not again…" Kakashi said as he clenched his fists. Jiraiya was shocked.

"I'm sorry Hatake. We're not positive if she's dead, but we still don't know if she's alive either. I don't want to raise your hopes up" Tsunade said.

Sai couldn't believe what he was hearing. Just a few weeks ago, he was hanging out with Sakura and now she was…gone? He didn't know what he was feeling but he wanted to do anything that could stop it. He felt his body shake.

"S-Sai…" Yamato said putting a hand on Sai's shoulder.

"U-Ugly can't be dead! She can't" Sai said. "She's alive! I know it!"

"Sai…" Kakashi said.

"You guys are to leave now. The quicker you find her, the better" Tsunade said as they nodded. "Oh and here's a shirt of Sakura's"

Kakashi quickly summoned Pakkun.

"Kakashi" Pakkun said. "My son actually was used on a mission. He makes me proud and-"

"Pakkun, now is not the time. We need to find Sakura" Kakashi said.

"Sakura? Oh; that pink-haired girl who used the same shampoo as me" Pakkun said. "Give me something to sniff her out"

Kakashi handed him a shirt as he sniffed it.

"Let's go!" Pakkun said as the three followed Pakkun.

XxXxXx

Shikamaru stared up at the sky as the sun was setting. He kept thinking about what Sakura told him before she fell.

**Flashback**

"_Why did you save me? Let me go. That way you and Yuuki can be saved. Please tell everyone I'm sorry for being a burden to them. With me gone, everything will be better right?" Sakura soon reached for her left glove as she unbuttoned it. Everything was too much for Shikamaru._

"_Look, I need to go back to Akatsuki's base. I saw something in the room I found Yuuki in; something about the Kyuubi and the Uchiha clans. This can help Naruto and Sasuke. I won't be a burden anymore. I'll do something useful to prove myself. Please don't go after me. Just complete the mission"_

_Shikamaru shook his head. "No. At least let me go with you! Neji and Lee can complete the mission for us" _

"_I want to do it myself. This is for me. I want to prove myself" Sakura said._

"_But…"_

_Sakura just smiled at him. His eyes widened. It was one of her genuine true smiles. She never smiled like that for a long time._

"_I promise I'll come back" Sakura said. "Take care Shikamaru and thank you" With that, Sakura's hand slipped out of her glove as she fell. Shikamaru screamed as loud as he could as Sakura fell into the ocean._

**End of flashback**

Shikamaru took out a cigarette as he lit it up. He had avoided everyone at the moment. He didn't want to answer questions asking where Sakura was. Neji and Lee were the same way. He never told Tsunade that part of the story. He had a feeling Sakura didn't want him to.

"You better keep your promise Sakura" Shikamaru said out loud. "What happened once you fell off the cliff?"

XxXxXx

Sakura tried to catch her breath as she made it back to the base. Moving as quietly as she could, she ended up at the intersection.

"Which way did I go again?" Sakura closed her eyes as she remembered Neji going west, Lee went east and Shikamaru with south. So she went north.

After successfully passing by Deidara's room without getting caught, she tried going the way Deidara showed her. After a couple minutes, she found the room she was looking for; a room at the end of the hallway.

Opening the door, it looked like no one was in the room since she couldn't find any charka. She used the hallway's lighting as light as she entered the room. She went back to the drawer in the room as she opened it. She grabbed a couple more scrolls into her back. She noticed it was scrolls about the Sharingan and the Uchiha clan.

She then looked to see a smaller box inside. She then remembered what Deidara told her.

**Flashback**

"_I want you to go into a certain room. There's a black and red drawer in there had holds scrolls. But there's a small box inside, and I want it."_

"_What's so important about a box" Sakura asked._

"_There's a rumor going around that it has information about your demon friend"_

**End of Flashback**

"This must be it!" Sakura whispered as her thoughts drifted to Naruto.

'_Naruto., now I can protect and save you for once. With this, I can free you. Wouldn't that be nice? You always protected me because you said I was the most important person to you. I want to save you because…because I lo-'_

Sakura's thoughts were cut short as she felt hand on top of her hands and the box. Her blood turned cold. Slowly turning her head up, she saw red eyes.

"I-Itachi…Uchiha…" Sakura whispered. She felt a shiver down her spine once she said his name.

"What are you doing in my room, kunoichi?" Itachi asked.

'_His room? He's always after Naruto, so it would make sense that he would have all those scrolls.'_ Sakura stared deeply into the hypnotizing eyes.

'_Naruto…'_ Naruto's smiling face was the last thing in her mind as she fell into darkness.

XxXxXx

A few days after they left Konoha, Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai reached the cliff where Sakura fell.

"Was this where she…" Yamato didn't finish the sentence as Kakashi only nodded.

"I smell her scent somewhere else. It's stronger and…" Pakkun stopped as he looked at Kakashi with a worried face.

"And what?" Kakashi asked.

"I smell blood and lots of it" He finished. Kakashi felt his blood turn cold.

"I-Is it Sakura's?" Kakashi asked.

Pakkun didn't say anything as he looked at the ground.

"Pakkun!" Kakashi scold.

"…yes" Pakkun said. Kakashi closed his eyes. "She's over at the cave. But that's as far as I can go. There seems to be a jutsu that won't let me in"

"Okay" Kakashi said wearily. "Let's move"

The three entered the base. Sai had already sent his mice into the base to look around.

"There doesn't seem to be any Akatsuki members around. They seem to be all out." Sai said.

"Okay, split up" Kakashi said. "I'll go this way" He said pointing west. "You go east" He said point Yamato to that direction. "Sai, you go north. Now go"

Sai saw his mice going his direction as he followed them. He carefully walked through the barely lit hallways. Torches were on the walls. After a couple of minutes, the mice led him to a door. Sai crinkled his nose. The stench of blood was strong around here.

Sai opened the door to reveal the strong smell of blood. Sai covered his nose. As the door opened wide, Sai fell to the ground in shocked.

Sai slowly got up as he walked towards the room. His shoes made squishing noises as he walked on the bloody floor. He walked up to the person chained to the wall. Blood covered its hair as Sai saw the beatings the person took. Looking at the person all together, he wanted to barf. Shaking, he clicked the button of his communicator.

"Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-sensei…"

"Yes Sai?" Yamato answered.

"Yeah?" Kakashi asked.

"…I found her" Sai said as he shut his eyes wishing everything right now was a dream.

"We'll be there soon" Yamato said.

"Sakura…" Sai said as he touched Sakura's face. Tears were present on her face. She was tortured and possibly raped. This enraged Sai deeply.

Sai soon heard the sounds of running coming from the hallway.

"Do you smell that?" Yamato's voice was heard. "Blood"

"The door's open" Kakashi said. The two walked closer to the door.

"Oh my god…" Yamato covered her mouth as Kakashi's body and mind went in shock. Sai turned around. No words could describe how Sai was feeling at the moment. Yamato helped Sai break the chains off Sakura as she fell. Yamato quickly caught her as they moved out of the room.

Kakashi moved quickly to Sakura as he checked for a pulse.

"It still there, but barely" Kakashi said.

'_I couldn't save another important person to me' _Kakashi thought in head as faces ofhis dad, the fourth Hokage, Obito, Rin, Sasuke, and Asuma came to mind.

"Let's go…" Yamato said as he carried the broken Sakura in his arms. Sai noticed the scrolls in Sakura's waist pack.

XxXxX

Three days had passed after Tsunade had received word from Kakashi saying they found her, but she was dying. They weren't sure if she would make it.

"Shizune, I just received word from Kakashi. Call in Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee. Then call in Naruto and Ino" Tsunade said as she drank her sake.

"Right away Tsunade-sama" Shizune said.

On the other side of Konoha, Ino was walking around Konoha deep in thought. Most of her thoughts were on Sakura.

"How could I have said that to her? When she comes back from her mission, I'll make it up to her" Ino said aloud as she found herself as the old team seven's meeting place. She looked to see a figure at the bridge.

"Naruto?" Ino called out. Naruto looked up.

"Oh, hey Ino…" Naruto said.

"What's wrong with you? I've never seen you this down before" Ino said.

"Hey, have you ever said anything really hurtful to Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. Ino's eyes widened.

"You too, huh" Ino said as she frowned. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Ino explained what happened. Naruto told his story after hers.

"So I let the Kyuubi's words mix up my anger and took it out on Sakura-chan! Oh man, Sakura-chan is going to hate us" Naruto cried out.

"We should make a big apology thing for her when she gets back" Ino said. "Its weeks since I've last seen her"

"Same here"

Soon smoke appeared in front of them.

"Shizune?" Naruto noticed that she was crying.

"You two are needed in the Hokage's office" Naruto and Ino nodded as they headed to Tsunade.

XxXxXx

At Tsunade's office, Shizune let them in. They spotted two chairs in front of them.

"Please sit down" Tsunade's voice said. Naruto looked around. Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru were seen lined up behind Tsunade. Tsunade herself had a large bottle of sake in front of her. The mood around this office was not pleasant.

"What's with everyone's mood?" Naruto said.

"Seriously! You guys act like someone di-"Ino was cut off as Tsunade began to speak.

"A couple weeks ago, I sent Shikamaru and his teams on a mission to save the Daimyo's son from rouge ninja. It should have been an easy mission for this team except that Akatsuki were involved, making this become an S-rank mission. It caused them to face a difficult situation…Shikamaru?" Tsunade said letting Shikamaru take over.

"We found the boy at Akatsuki's base as they were after us. We knocked out the Akatsuki members Tobi and Deidara, but Kisame was much more difficult. He had sucked all of our chakra. The boy we were protecting was accidentally knocked over the cliff by Sakura's punch before Kisame attacked her. She tried to go after the boy. Realizing she didn't have charka, I went after them to save them as Neji and Lee held us by a rope. The rope began to rip due to all the weight…so…so…Sakura let go of the rope as she fell into the ocean. She said she didn't want to be a **burden** anymore. She didn't want to be **useless**." Shikamaru clenched his teeth to stop himself from yelling that it was their fault.

"The glove and backpack was all they had left of her. I sent Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai to see if they could find her…body or if she was alive." Tsunade said as she wiped her tears away. "I-I'll be making the announcements if they find her…dead…" Naruto and Ino couldn't comprehend how they were feeling at the moment.

Soon a nurse ran into the room. She seemed to be in her 50's.

"Hokage-sama! Kakashi Hatake brought in Sakura Haruno's body! She's in very critical condition!" The nurse cried out. Everyone's eyes widened.

"Critical condition?" Shikamaru repeated.

"Everyone out!" Tsunade said.

XxXxXx

After many hours in the emergency room, Tsunade had finally come out as she was crying. She went to Kakashi as they talked. Tsunade looked to see Naruto sleeping on the bench nearby. His back was facing them. Unknown to them, Naruto had been awake the whole time. With his supersonic hearing thanks to the Kyuubi, he could hear everything Tsunade had told Kakashi.

"Hatake, they must have done something to her. She's mentally unstable at the moment. To make things worse, she's currently blind in her right eye as her left eye was bleeding. She also seems to have trouble moving, a bit of retardation, and she lost her memory. It's like she's dead. Shikamaru told me, she went to back to Akatsuki's base because she found information about Naruto and the Kyuubi, and she also found information about the Sharingan and secrets of the Uchiha clan."

"Where did she find all these?" Kakashi asked.

"She found them in Itachi's room over at the base. She did this all for Naruto and Sasuke" Tsunade said sadly. Kakashi looked to his right to see Naruto looking at them in shock.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said calmly.

"Tell me that isn't true" Naruto yelled. "Tell me she's okay! Please, just stop lying!" Kakashi walked up to Naruto and pulled him into a hug. Naruto cried hard as Tsunade rubbed his back motherly.

In Sakura's recovery room, Shikamaru stared at Sakura's resting body. The IV was in her as she had an oxygen mask. There was a bandage covering her left eyes as bandages were on her head, arms, and legs. She was very pale, that she looked dead right there.

"What was so important that you found? Was it even worth risking your life?" Shikamaru asked as tears were falling down his cheek.

All that was heard in the room were the heart monitor and the ventilator helping Sakura breathe.

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**Poor Sakura. Everything will be happier in later chapters…I hope. Ehehe, well what did you guys think? Like it or hate it? Please review everyone**

**-Kumiko**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

XxXxXx

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Hatake, they must have done something to her. She's mentally unstable at the moment. To make things worse, she's currently blind in her right eye as her left eye was bleeding. She also seems to have trouble moving, a bit of retardation, and she lost her memory. It's like she's dead. Shikamaru told me, she went to back to Akatsuki's base because she found information about Naruto and the Kyuubi, and she also found information about the Sharingan and secrets of the Uchiha clan."_

"_Where did she find all these?" Kakashi asked. _

"_She found them in Itachi's room over at the base. She did this all for Naruto and Sasuke" Tsunade said sadly. Kakashi looked to his right to see Naruto looking at them in shock._

"_Naruto…" Kakashi said calmly._

"_Tell me that isn't true" Naruto yelled. "Tell me she's okay! Please, just stop lying!" Kakashi walked up to Naruto and pulled him into a hug. Naruto cried hard as Tsunade rubbed his back motherly. _

_In Sakura's recovery room, Shikamaru stared at Sakura's resting body. The IV was in her as she had an oxygen mask. There was a bandage covering her left eyes as bandages were on her head, arms, and legs. She was very pale, that she looked dead right there._

"_What was so important that you found? Was it even worth risking your life?" Shikamaru asked as tears were falling down his cheek._

_All that was heard in the room were the heart monitor and the ventilator helping Sakura breathe._

XxXxXx

As the month of September was slowly ending, it seemed like all of rookie nine and Gai's team heard about Sakura's condition. Tsunade had also sent a message to Gaara and his siblings. It soon began to spread through all of Konoha.

Naruto visited Sakura the next week. When he entered the room, guilt began to come back to him, especially when he saw how Sakura looked like.

"S-Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as he pulled a chair to bring it close to the bed. "I don't know if you could hear me…" Naruto took her hand as he held it close to his lips. "I'm so sorry Sakura-chan" Naruto felt something warm roll down his cheeks as he wiped them away but more kept coming.

'**I'm sorry too kid' **The Kyuubi said.

She was hurt first by Sasuke; next it was himself that hurt her, then Ino. It was pathetic how he always said he'd protect her no matter what. That was his life time promise to her and he broke it. If only Sasuke knew what had happened.

Naruto looked at Sakura. "Everyone is praying for you to wake up Sakura-chan. Please, I wish you'd wake up" Naruto gave her a peck on the cheek. Soon a nurse came into the room and told Naruto that he was called into the Hokage's office. He opened the door to see Ino already there sitting down.

"Naruto…" Tsunade said. "Please sit down" Naruto nodded as he sat down. Tsunade began to talk about how she told Ino about Sakura's condition at the moment.

"I've been analyzing her condition. Sakura's on life support but we don't know if she'll make it, it's up to her. We've done the best we could. The way she was brought in, we'd need a miracle for her to wake up." Tsunade said closing her eyes.

"What if she makes it?" Ino asked.

"You mean what happens _when _she does make it" Naruto corrected her as he folded his arms.

"Honestly, I'd rather have her dead than alive" Tsunade said.

"What did you just say?" Naruto growled. Ino tried to calm him down.

"If you found out what would happen to her if she did make it, you would feel the same way! You know I love Sakura like she was my own daughter!" Tsunade shouted back.

"What happens, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

"If Sakura were to wake up, she would be blind, she would have amnesia. She wouldn't be able to walk ever. She would have trouble talking and she would have a bit of retardation. She won't be able to live by herself. She will not be the Sakura you once knew. The body will be physically there, but the mind and feelings won't be" Tsunade said. Naruto was speechless as he fell to his seat.

Soon two ANBU members came into the room.

"Hokage-sama! Sound has been destroyed and Orochimaru is dead!" one of them said.

"O-Orochimaru!" Tsunade said as she got up and banged her fists on her desk.

"Yes. We heard something had exploded at Sound. When we had checked it out, we saw a few surviving ninja from Sound as we questioned them. They told us Sasuke Uchiha was the one who killed Orochimaru. He had taken three other members and left. Sound has officially been destroyed.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Sasuke…"

Tsunade put her hands to her face. "Thank you…" The ANBU nodded as they left.

Soon another person came into the room. "What now!" Tsunade shouted.

"Sorry to disturb you Hokage-sama, but Sakura Haruno…" The nurse seemed to be out of breath. Her glasses were falling.

"What happened to Sakura?" Tsunade asked. The nurse tried to catch her breath.

"S-She has awakened!" The nurse cried out.

"What!" Tsunade said as she fell into her chair. This was too much for her. How much stuff was going to happen today?

"Sakura-chan's awake?" Naruto immediately tried to leave.

"Oh no you don't brat!" Tsunade said as she grabbed him by the collar. "I want Sakura to see nobody except me unless asked by only me" She said to the nurse. The nurse nodded as Tsunade left.

**XxXxXx**

Naruto looked up at the stars. Sakura finally woke up. His prayers were answered. Soon his thoughts drifted to what Tsunade had told him earlier.

"_If Sakura were to wake up, she would be blind, she would have amnesia. She wouldn't be able to walk ever. She would have trouble talking and she would have a bit of retardation. She won't be able to live by herself. She will not be the Sakura you once knew. The body will be physically there, but the mind and feelings won't be"_

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered in the night. He had to see her. He began to move quietly to the hospital as he reached a certain window on the second floor. Naruto grinned when he saw the window was partly opened. He slid in making sure not to make too much noise.

Naruto stood still as he heard Sakura's soft breathing patterns. Moving closer he watched her peacefully.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered once again. His hand moved a few strands of hair from Sakura's face. He looked at the cloth over her left eye as there were bandages around her head. Her left hand was in a cast, but other than that she still looked okay.

Naruto knew he couldn't stay long, unless he wanted to get caught. "Good night Sakura-chan. I'll try to let Tsunade-baachan give me a chance to visit you tomorrow"

Naruto soon left as Tsunade entered the room.

"That idiot. He never listens to me" Tsunade sighed quietly as she closed the window. She looked over at her apprentice to see her face express pain. Tsunade's hands glowed with green charka as her hand hovered over Sakura's forehead. Her other hand began to check the rest of her body as she tried to heal everything as best as she could. Once she was done, Tsunade pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down.

"Hey Sakura. I tried to heal you the best I could. The idiot is very worried about you. In fact, everyone is. Gaara and his siblings want to come and visit you soon. Everyone can't wait to see you again. I wish there was a way I could bring you back to normal, but I don't have that power." Tsunade soon paused. "…but maybe Uzumaki can do something. I don't know, but there's something with that kid I can't comprehend. He can somehow do anything he believes in. It's like he can bring a miracle to people's lives and helped them believe. Maybe he can do that with you. Then you can get better again and live your life like you always did, probably even better."

Sakura said nothing as she continued to sleep. Tsunade sighed as she got up and walked out of the room.

**XxXxXx**

Rookie nine and team Gai met at team seven's meeting place as everyone was asking about Sakura.

"H-How is she?" Hinata asked.

"I heard she woke up already" Kiba said as he put an arm around Hinata's shoulders.

"Yeah…" Naruto said. "But Tsunade-baachan won't let us see her yet"

"Why not?" Tenten asked. "She's our friend. We have the right to see her"

"I don't know Tenten" Neji said. "Maybe the Hokage has a good reason"

"We should have a party for her" Lee said.

"Ino, the Hokage said that Sakura has amnesia. Having a party and her meeting all of us at once will be too much for her" Shikamaru said.

"I heard she is also blind" Sai said in a sad tone.

Lee brought his fist up as he cried anime-style. "Her fire of youth is slowly going away" Everyone sighed.

"Maybe we can all schedule a day or two with Sakura" Chouji said as he popped a potato chip into his mouth.

"That would be a good idea!" Tenten said. "That way, maybe we can help Sakura remember"

"That will be our goal then!" Ino said as she put her hands on her hips. "Our goal is to get the old Sakura back, no matter how we do it"

"I'm up for it!" Kiba said. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Y-yes. For Sakura-chan" Hinata said.

"For Sakura-chan!" Everyone said together.

Soon out of nowhere a certain ninja popped up.

"Yo"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said.

" Naruto, Sai, you two are needed in the Hokage's office " Kakashi said.

**XxXxXx**

Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi entered the Hokage's office as Yamato was already here.

"I brought them" Kakashi said as he leaned against the wall.

"Thank you Hatake" Tsunade said.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura's awake now. She seems to be okay, but we want her to stay a few days just to be sure. Since you guys are her teammates, it would be only right if I told you this. Sakura is not in the condition to stay by herself so I need someone to watch her until she will be capable in living by herself. I already gave Ino the first two months to take care of her. So it would be right to have N-"

"Sasuke" Naruto said.

"What?" Tsunade gave Naruto a weird look. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his student.

"What does that traitor have to do with ugly?" Sai asked.

"He has to take care of Sakura-chan" Naruto said.

"Naruto, Sasuke is a missing nin of Konoha an-"Tsunade was cut off again.

"And we made a promise that we would not break ever" Naruto said. "We made a promise that we'd take care of Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan is like family to Sasuke and it would only be right to let Sasuke take care of her too"

"Naruto, what makes you think Sasuke would even agree to come back in the village for Sakura?" Tsunade asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Because…." Naruto smiled to himself. "He cares about Sakura-chan deeply enough to come back. He may not show it, but he truly cares about her"

"I agree with Naruto" Kakashi said as he put his hands into his pockets. "You should have Sasuke take care of Sakura; maybe he can trigger something in her memories as well."

"Suppose I agree, how do you suggest we get Sasuke?" Tsunade asked as she laced her fingers and put them under her chin.

"Easy" Kakashi soon summoned Pakkun.

"Yo" Pakkun said.

Tsunade took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm even agreeing to this, but fine. You guys have until the end of the month to bring the Uchiha back."

Naruto's eyes widened. But that was barely a week from now.

"But-"Tsunade interrupted Naruto.

"Don't push it Naruto. Be grateful I even agreed to this. But this is for Sakura. Now go you guys have an hour to get ready. I will assign team seven and Ino as medic. Now go before I change my mind"

Naruto grinned as he hugged Tsunade. "Thank you!"

**XxXxXx**

"Everyone ready?" Kakashi asked as everyone met up at the gates.

"Sasuke, you better come back for Sakura-chan's sake" Naruto said. He soon went up to Pakkun as he sniffed Sasuke's headband. Pakkun sniffed up.

"I think I got something" Pakkun said. "Let's go before I lose it" Everyone nodded as they followed.

All day long they ran until they ended up at old Sound Village. Everyone stood shocked as they saw all the damage.

"S-Sasuke did all this?" Ino asked.

"Seems like it" Kakashi said.

"Scary…" Ino muttered. Naruto moved closer to the destroyed base.

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled as his voice echoed.

"Here's not here punk" Pakkun said. He began to sniff around.

"It's night time" Kakashi said. "We're going to camp here"

"But we need to find Sasuke!" Naruto said.

"Don't worry, we'll find him soon. But we're going to need our strength if Sasuke doesn't come with us easily."

"Fine…" Naruto muttered as he got his sleeping bag ready. Yamato started the fire as Sai began to draw.

Naruto's eyes began to get droopy as he fell asleep.

_Naruto…_

**Who's calling my name?**

_Naruto…_

**Sakura-chan?**

_Naruto…I need you…_

**Sakura-chan, I can't see you**

Naruto began to see a figure in the darkness. He could see pink.

_I'm right here Naruto_

Naruto began to run towards Sakura as he finally reached her.

**Sakura-chan!**

Naruto grabbed her as she disappeared. Before he knew it, he was in a dark place as water began to rise. He looked to his right to see Sakura with her back to him.

**Sakura-chan, wait for me!**

Naruto tried to move to her but he couldn't move. He watched as Sakura began to turn to face him. She was crying as the water went above them. Naruto opened his eyes as he could see Sakura floating above him but he was sinking in the water.

**S-Sakura-chan…**

Naruto's eyes widened as he found himself awake. Ino was making breakfast as Kakashi was reading a book.

"You're finally awake" Ino said.

"Where's Yamato-sensei and Sai?" Naruto asked.

"They went to see if they could find any clues" Kakashi said. Soon a loud boom was heard. A large sound of chirping was heard.

"Chidori…" Naruto and Kakashi said together. Ino was just confused.

"Sasuke must be near!" Naruto said as he ran towards the direction of the sound. Once Naruto got there, he saw Sai fighting again a man with a large sword. There was a tall man fighting again Yamato. There was a girl standing next to Sasuke as he turned and looked at Naruto.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he jumped down.

"Who's that Sasuke-kun?" the girl asked. Sasuke just ignored her as he stared at Naruto. Soon Kakashi and Ino came.

"That guy's cute, but he's not as cute as you Sasuke-kun" the girl said.

"Not now Karin" Sasuke said.

"Ew, he brought a slut in" Karin said. Ino's ears twitched.

"What did you call me, bitch?" Ino asked.

"Slut! S-L-U-T" Karin said. Ino growled as she tackled Karin to the ground. Sasuke's eyes looked around.

'_Why is that annoying blonde girl here…?' _Sasuke thought while keeping a calm façade on. '_Where's Sakura?'_

"I see you replaced Sakura because she was so weak" Sasuke said. Naruto growled as his hands curled into a fist. He soon punched Sasuke in the face.

"Shut up! Sasuke, I'm bringing you back to Konoha" Naruto said. Sasuke growled as he disappeared then reappeared behind Naruto, hitting him in the back. Naruto slid against the hard surface of the ground as he got scratches on his face.

"Dobe, you said that so many times. I told you once before, I'm not going back to Konoha. I need to get stronger to defeat my brother!" Sasuke said. "So I'm not coming back, you just wasted your time trying to get me"

Before Sasuke knew it, Naruto tackled him to the ground as he punched him on the right side of his face. He soon pulled out a kunai close to Sasuke's neck.

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin screamed as Ino threw a kunai at her.

Naruto glared at him as Sasuke just looked at him with no expression."This isn't about you! I don't care if you don't come back right now." Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto tried to punch him. Sasuke quickly caught the punch. " I only came to get you because I thought it would only be fair if you knew" Naruto continued.

"Knew what?" Sasuke asked as he narrowed his eyes. Sasuke soon kicked Naruto in the stomach as he pulled out his sword and tried to hit Naruto. Naruto grabbed his kunai and tried to block the sword.

"You wouldn't care. You only care about your brother! I don't know why she cared so deeply about you" Naruto said as he pushed Sasuke down. "I for one didn't want to break that promise we made…" Naruto muttered under his breath.

"What are you talking about?!" Sasuke yelled as he grabbed Naruto by the arm. Soon Kakashi appeared between them holding them up by a hand.

"Sakura needs you more than ever right now" Kakashi said interrupting the two. He soon put them back down when they seemed like they cooled off.

"Hn" Sasuke said he turned around. _'Sakura needs me? What's going on? Did something happen to her' _Kakashi seemed to have read his mind as he answered them.

"Sakura had an encounter with your brother on her last mission" Kakashi tried again. He saw Sasuke tense up.

"Itachi?" Sasuke said his name with venom.

"Akatsuki kidnapped a boy as Sakura-chan found him. She then went back because she saw something in a room. The room ended up being your brother's room." Naruto said in a sad voice. He soon looked up at Sasuke with sadness in his eyes. "He…your brother hurt S-Sakura-chan really bad"

Sasuke's eyes soon turned bloody red.

"What did he do to Sakura?" Sasuke growled as he lifted Naruto by the collar of his shirt. "How dare he lay a hand on her" He said quieter.

Kakashi took notice of Sasuke's reaction especially when he heard the last part.

"_Naruto, what makes you think Sasuke would even agree to come back in the village for Sakura?" Tsunade asked as she narrowed her eyes._

"_Because…." Naruto smiled to himself. "He cares about Sakura-chan deeply enough to come back. He may not show it, but he truly cares about her"_

'Naruto seemed to be right' Kakashi said to himself.

"We're not entirely sure, but all we know is that she must have found something important, because he left her chained to a wall in a room covered in blood…her blood. By the time we found her, she was really close to death. She seemed to have been tortured, most likely with the Mangekyou." Kakashi said. Sasuke lowered his glare to the ground.

'_How could she even get into the base? She's so troublesome. I now have another reason to kill my brother. I thought that if I left, she'd be safe.' _Sasuke thought as an image of a smiling Sakura entered his mind. _'Damn it, this is why I wanted to break all bonds I had in Konoha'_

"She did it to protect and save us for a change" Naruto said. "She wanted to prove herself. That's what Shikamaru told me. She did it for us, Teme. She needs us more than ever now. She's been there for us, now it's our turn. What do you say?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke turned around as he walked away. "Hn" Naruto was about to say something but stopped when he saw Sasuke grab his bag and walked passed Naruto. Soon Sasuke stopped.

"What are you doing standing there? You did get me to bring me to Sakura didn't you?" Sasuke asked.

Yamato had pulled back his wood jutsu as he went to Kakashi's side. Sai rolled up his scrolls and walked with Ino who was done punching Karin in the face. Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin stood in shocked as they watched his leader walk away. Naruto's face lit up.

"B-But Sasuke-kun?!" Karin called out while trying to fix her broken glasses thanks to Ino.

"Where are you going?" Suigetsu asked.

"There's a girl that needs me right now" Sasuke said. Karin grew red with anger and jealousy.

"What about Itachi? Isn't he important? Are you trying to say that this Sakura bitch is more important than me-I mean your brother?" Karin asked. Ino and Naruto glared daggers at her.

"Sakura is more important right now…" Sasuke said as he walked away. Karin's mouth dropped as Suigetsu started to laugh.

"I hope she gets well" Juugo yelled to them. Sasuke nodded as he walked away with Naruto and the gang.

Kakashi stared at Sasuke's back.

'_Naruto's powers are working again'_

**XxXxXx**

Tsunade could not believe who was sitting in front of her desk.

"S-Sasuke Uchiha?!" Tsunade said shocked.

"Hn…" Sasuke said as he looked the other way. His pride was slowly decreasing. "Where's Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"She's in her room and-"Sasuke soon got up and headed out the door as Naruto and Ino followed.

"Hey!" Tsunade called out.

"Let them be" Kakashi said. "Sasuke needs to see her"

"I suppose, but I better keep my eye on him. He is still a threat to Konoha" Tsunade said as she headed to the hospital.

At the hospital, Ino had taken the boys to Sakura's room as she slowly opened the door.

"Sakura?" Ino called out. Sasuke looked to see a girl in a wheel chair looking out the window.

"I thought she had amnesia?" Naruto asked.

"She does, but she only seemed to remember her name now" Ino said.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto called her name. They watched as Sakura turned her head to face them.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw her face.

"S-she's…" Sasuke couldn't finish the sentence.

"She's blind Teme" Naruto said as he came up to Sakura.

They watched as Sakura looked around for the voices that called her name. She extended her hands trying to see if someone was here. Naruto squatted down as he grabbed her hand gently. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki and you're my best friend"

Sakura gave him a questioning look. In her head, people showed up but she couldn't see their faces. Soon Ino came up to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura, I'm your other best friend, Ino Yamanaka. Ino touched her hand as Sakura raised her hand to touch Ino's face. Soon the two looked at Sasuke as he walked up as well.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke said. Sakura had also touched Sasuke face as if it would help her see. Sasuke felt uncomfortable. How could she end up like this? The door of the room opened as Tsunade entered.

"Hey Sakura, it seems you met your friends. There's more but you just have to wait." Sakura began to smile as she clapped her hands. Tsunade's hands turned green as she put her hands over Sakura's eyes. "Seems she still can't talk yet"

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"I'm helping her with her blindness. She's not completely blind, but it will take me a while to heal it. Anyways, I came here to tell you who takes care of Sakura first. Like I said before, Ino will take care of her first for the first few months, then it will be Uchiha, then after that it will be you Naruto. After you it can be whoever wants to take care of her next"

"How come I can't take care of her first?" Naruto asked.

"Do you not want to take care of her at all?" Sasuke asked.

"Teme…" Naruto glared at him playfully.

Sasuke smirked. "Dobe"

Naruto smirked back. "Welcome back Teme"

-

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**Sasuke comes back! (smiles) You can see where Naruto's power to create miracles comes. But will it be enough to help Sakura? Find out next time. Please review everyone. I wonder what will happen next? Hm...  
**

**-Kumiko**


	4. Chapter 4

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**I've been getting messages from people saying, Naruto wouldn't yell at Sakura ever, which is true, but this is FANFICTION. This doesn't have to actually go along with the manga. Besides, I needed Naruto to act like that. I get other messages saying Sakura is a whore; first she's after Sasuke, then she's going after Naruto. I have nothing against any couples in Naruto unless they make no sense at all whatsoever. I'm a big SasuSaku fan, but that doesn't mean I don't like to test my writing skills on other couples such as NaruSaku. Just want to get that cleared. Thank you everyone for reading my story so far.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

"_Hey Sakura, it seems you met your friends. There's more but you just have to wait. Sakura began to smile as she clapped her hands. Tsunade's hands turned green as she put her hands over Sakura's eyes._

"_What are you doing?" Naruto asked._

"_I'm helping her with her blindness. She's not completely blind, but it will take me a while to heal it. Anyways, I came here to tell you who takes care of Sakura first. Like I said before, Ino will take care of her first for the first few months, then it will be Uchiha, then after that it will be you Naruto. After you it can be whoever wants to take care of her next"_

"_How come I can't take care of her first?" Naruto asked._

"_Do you not want to take care of her at all?" Sasuke asked._

"_Teme…" Naruto glared at him playfully._

_Sasuke smirked. "Dobe"_

_Naruto smirked back. "Welcome back Teme"_

**XxXxXx**

"Well you guys take care of Sakura, I'm going to get my house ready for her" Ino said as she walked away.

Naruto nodded as he looked over at Sakura as Sasuke was talking to her.

"Hey" Sasuke said as he held Sakura's hand. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little tingle of jealousy.

They watched as Sakura didn't say anything. She couldn't. Naruto watched as Sasuke cupped Sakura's face as she leaned on to it. Sakura just smiled at him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I let him hurt another family of mine. I broke our promise. I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back to normal, even…"Sasuke clenched his fists. "Even if that means I have to stop my hunt for my brother just to see you get better. The dobe and I made a promise, and we want to keep it."

Naruto was lost for words. He never saw Sasuke like this. Sasuke really cared about Sakura. He could tell.

Sakura just stared to where she thought the voice was coming from as she smiled. It hurt him truly. "I'm gonna go now" Sasuke said as he said goodbye to Sakura. "Take care of her Dobe"

Sasuke closed the door as Naruto took a seat next to Sakura.

"Hey Sakura-chan" Naruto said happily as Sakura stared at the ceiling smiling. "It's Naruto. Sasuke and Ino left, but they'll be back. Everyone is so excited to see you. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro are coming to visit you as well." Naruto didn't hear the door open. Soon what he heard shocked him. "O-Okay…" Sakura said. Naruto's eyes widened. She spoke just now. Something dropping to the floor was heard. Naruto turned his head to see Tsunade had dropped her clipboard.

"Did she just…?"Tsunade couldn't finish her sentence. Naruto nodded as Tsunade ran up to Sakura.

"Sakura, say something dear" Tsunade said.

"Okay" Sakura said smiling.

"Say something else. What's your name?" Tsunade asked. Sakura gave them a weird look before smiling. "Sakura"

Tsunade's eyes widened as she pulled Sakura into a hug. "She's talking Naruto. It's not much, but it's still something. She shouldn't be able to talk right now, but she is!"

Naruto smiled. Tsunade just smiled at Sakura. Another miracle…

**XxXxXx**

As the month of October began, Sakura was moved into Ino's house.

"Welcome to my house Sakura" Ino said as she pushed Sakura's wheelchair inside her apartment. "You'll be staying here with me for a few months. Tsunade will be dropping by every week to heal your eyes and maybe your voice box too.

"Okay" Sakura said. Ino wasn't surprised since Tsunade and Naruto had told her Sakura was starting to talk again.

"Everyone can't wait to see you Forehead-girl" Sakura stared off to space as a memory came to her.

"_Hey aren't you the girl they're always teasing because you have such a big forehead?"A blond girl asked as she squatted down to talk to a crying girl with pink hair. Sakura could see the girl's face. She had big green eyes with pink hair but she could see the blond girl's face for it was blurry. The crying girl looked up._

"_W-Who are you?" She asked._

"_Who me? That's easy, I'm Ino Yamanaka. Who are you?" the blond girl asked._

"_My name is…Sakura…" the girl muttered as she began to hiccup._

"_Huh? Hello! I can't hear you. Let's try that again okay? Who are you?"_

"_My name is Sakura!" the girl shouted. Sakura was shocked. The little girl was named Sakura too?_

"_That's better" the girl said as she poked the girl's forehead. "So this is the famous forehead, huh? Whoa, it is kind of big, so that's why you hide it with your bangs?"_

_Little Sakura began to cry as the blond girl moved her bangs away. "Well, that's dumb! That just makes it worse. It makes you look like a sheep dog" Sakura still couldn't see the girl's face._

"_Sakura huh?"_

"_Uh huh…" The blond girl began to walk away._

"_Hey you know what? I got something special for you. Come back here tomorrow, okay?"The girl said as she waved goodbye._

"Sakura?" Ino's voice called her out from the memory. Sakura reached out for Ino as she moved closer. "Sakura, are you okay? I've been calling your name for a while" Sakura just nodded.

"Sakura" Sakura muttered as Ino gave her a weird look.

"Huh, I can't hear you?" Ino said.

"My…name…is…Sakura!" Sakura shouted. Sakura's eyes widened as Ino had the same reaction. Sakura began to fall off the wheel chair as Ino caught her and pulled her into a protective hug.

"I know" Ino said as she stroke Sakura's hair. "I know. Do you know who I am?" Ino asked. She felt Sakura shake her head as Ino smiled sadly. "Well, I'll make sure you remember me" Ino help Sakura sit on her couch.

Soon the door bell rang as Ino told Sakura to wait as she answered the door.

"Hey Ino" a lazy voice said.

"Hey Shika-kun" Ino said as she gave him a kiss.

"How is she?" Shikamaru asked as Ino let him in.

"She said her first sentence" Ino said excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked the Hokage if I could help you take care of Sakura. She said it was a good idea. That way I can spend more time with you and Sakura" Shikamaru said.

"Thank Shika-kun" Ino said. "Sakura guess who's here!"

Shikamaru watched as Sakura looked at the direction of the voice.

"Hey Sakura" Shikamaru said as he got close to her. "I'm Shikamaru Nara, one of your close friends"

"_Did I keep you waiting, Shikamaru?"A girl with pink hair asked a boy with a pineapple shaped head._

"_Not really…" He said lazily. Sakura tried to see the boy's face but it was blurry. "I just got here"_

"_Thank goodness! Well, here you go!' The girl handed the boy a piece of paper. "Don't forget I was the one who gave it to you"_

"_Yeah yeah…how troublesome" the boy said._

_The pink haired girl just smiled._

"Okay" Sakura smiled.

"That's all she could say and her name. But earlier she said 'my name is Sakura'" Ino said.

"That's a good sign then" Shikamaru smiled. "She still can't see though huh?"

Ino shook her head as she sighed. "Tsunade is going to come every week to heal her eyes." The couple heard a yawn as they saw Sakura have a sleepy expression on her face.

"Are you tired Sakura?" Ino asked. Sakura nodded as Ino just smiled at her, though Sakura couldn't see it. "Okay, let's go take a nap then" Shikamaru came and lifted Sakura in his arms as he brought her to Ino's room and laid her on the bed. Ino sat down at stroked Sakura's hair. In a few minutes Sakura had fallen asleep. Ino and Shikamaru left the door opened as they went into the living room.

"This must be really hard on you" Shikamaru said as Ino leaned onto his chest.

"It will be hard on everyone, especially Sasuke and Naruto" Ino said. "Naruto's in love with her, so this must be very heartbreaking for him. Sakura is like a part of all of us. Without her, we're incomplete"

"That was deep" Shikamaru joked. Ino stuck her tongue at him.

"I just can't believe something like this would happen to her. I mean her of all people don't deserve this. All the hurt I…people caused her…" Ino whispered but Shikamaru heard her.

"Well, maybe this is fate's way of giving people a chance to correct the wrongs they made. To give them a second chance to make things right" Shikamaru said as he felt Ino trembling. Ino nodded as she began to fall asleep. Shikamaru just smiled.

"How troublesome" he said as he lifted Ino in his arms. He brought her into her room so she could sleep next to Sakura. He soon watched as Ino unconsciously held Sakura's hand as Sakura held hers.

He still needed to pack his stuff since he was going to stay over for a month or two. He wrote a note telling Ino he was going to get some stuff.

A few hours later, Ino woke up to see Sakura still awake. She noticed a post-it note on her hand as she read it.

"_**I went to get some stuff from home to bring over here. I might go eat with Chouji later and he might come over as well. I hope you don't mind. It would be troublesome if you do. See you later.**_

_**Shikamaru**_

Ino smiled. She didn't mind. It's been a while since the whole team spent time together. Maybe Chouji could help out as well. There was an extra room the boys could share as well.

Ino soon watched as Sakura was sleeping peacefully. The bandage was still over her left eye. A memory came to her. A few months before Sakura's mission, Sakura had slept over at Ino's house. They were awake at night as they lied in bed having some girl talk.

**Flashback**

"_You're so lucky Ino" Sakura said. Ino looked at her left._

"_Why is that?"Ino stared at Sakura who was staring at her ceiling._

"_You have Shikamaru, Tenten had Neji, and Hinata had Kiba." Ino frowned at Sakura's comment._

"_Haven't we gone over this before? Well you are waiting for Sasuke. You love him and he loves you" Ino said. Sakura shook her head._

"_It's not that type of love" Sakura said. Ino gave her a weird look._

"_What are you talking about?" Ino asked._

"_I finally realized that Sasuke loves me. But it's not like the love you have for Shikamaru. It's more of a best friend love or family love." Ino was shocked that Sakura said that with a smile. _

"_Are you okay with that?" Sakura tuned to her with a true smile._

"_It's all I could ask for. He thinks of me as someone really important to him, like family. Besides…" Sakura began to giggle. _

"_What are you hiding Sakura?" Ino asked with a smile of her own. _

"_Besides, I'm in love with Naruto" Ino's mouth dropped as Sakura smiled to herself. Ino whacked her with a pillow for not telling her sooner._

**End of flashback**

Ino smiled with the memory. She was glad Sakura fell for Naruto. Naruto maybe be an idiot, but he truly loved Sakura and Sakura loved him. Anyone could see that, except Naruto himself. He'd 

do anything for her. She looked at the bandages again. She wished she could do something; she was a medic for god's sake. She was the apprentice of Sakura Haruno.

Ino soon heard her front door open.

"I can't wait to see Sakura. She'll be so excited to see me" Ino could tell that was Chouji's voice.

"She still blind Chouji" Shikamaru said. Soon something came to mind. Ino quietly got out of her bed as she walked to her living room.

"Hey!" Ino said.

"So you're awake" Shikamaru said. Ino greeted Chouji as she put on her shoes.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm going to the library. Watch Sakura for me okay" Ino said as she left.

"Ino going to the library?" Chouji said. "What's next, hell is going to freeze over?"

"I HEARD THAT!" Ino shouted from outside.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru said.

**XxXxXx**

Ino looked through the books trying to find anything that talked about curing blindness. Ino checked out a few books but it wasn't enough. "Maybe I can find something in the hospital"

"Find what?" a voice asked.

"Hey Sai-kun" Ino said. "What are you doing here?"

"Reading and checking out books. This is a library after all" Sai said. Ino made a face. Ino soon looked at the book in Sai's hand.

"How to act in different situations?" Ino questioned. Sai blushed as he kept the book closer to his waist.

"I'm trying to figure out what to do with this situation with Sakura. I don't know what to do…" Sai said holding the book tight.

Ino just smiled. "Books aren't going to help you. You have to experience it by yourself. Besides, the best thing you can do for Sakura is just be there for her. Well I have to go, see you later"

Sai watched Ino walk away as he thought about what she said.

**XxXxXx**

Ino looked through all the scrolls talking about blindness and cures for it.

"I should have looked here in the first place." She looked outside the window to see the sun setting. "I better go home now. They're probably waiting for me."

Ino carried the books and scrolls in her bag as she walked across town. Ino passed by her family's flower shop. She had moved out of the house to live on her own, but her parents didn't want her to. They soon got into an argument which led to Ino's bad mood the time Sakura had come over with Sai.

Ino sighed as she walked away and headed to her house. When she opened the door she saw Shikamaru sleeping on the couch as Chouji was reading a book to Sakura. She was slowly falling asleep as Chouji finished the book.

"Hey Ino" Chouji said.

"Sorry I came home late. Did you guys eat yet?" Chouji nodded.

"Yup. We went to the Korean barbeque with Sakura. They heard about Sakura's condition so they gave us all you can eat barbeque for free!" Ino watched as Chouji's mouth got watery.

Ino sighed. "What are we going to do with you Chouji" Ino joked as she softly slapped Chouji on the cheek. He just grinned.

"So you and Shikamaru are going to be living together as you take care of Sakura?" Ino blushed as she nodded.

"Is it okay if I can stay too? I want to help Sakura get better." Chouji said as he looked at the sleeping form of Sakura. Ino smiled.

"Of course. You and Shikamaru can share a room"

"Okay. I'll be here tomorrow then. Bye Ino!" Chouji said as he left.

Ino lifted Sakura and brought her to her room as she put her on the bed. Tucking Sakura in nicely, Ino grabbed a blanket and pillow and joined Shikamaru on the couch.

Shikamaru opened his eyes as he saw blond hair under his chin. He smiled as he put his arms around Ino and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Chouji had come and made breakfast as Shikamaru was helping Sakura talk. Ino was sitting next to Shikamaru and Sakura as she was reading the books and scrolls she got.

"Breakfast is served" Chouji said.

"Let's go eat Sakura" Shikamaru said as he got up and helped her up. He had forgotten she couldn't stand. She was about to fall as Chouji caught her. Shikamaru sighed as he looked over to his girlfriend to see her looking at a book.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not hungry" Ino said as she flipped a page.

"Don't tell me you're on a diet. You probably didn't eat dinner last night" Shikamaru said as he sat down next to Ino and looked at one of the books surrounding Ino. "Blindness…" He looked to see Ino concentrating on the book. He sighed as he grabbed Ino by the waist.

"Up you go" He said making Ino drop the book.

"Shikamaru! I was reading" Ino shouted.

"You can't help Sakura if you're hungry. So eat" Shikamaru ordered as he led Ino to the dining table. She saw Sakura smiling at Chouji who was helping her eat.

"Hey Sakura" Ino said as she took a seat next to her. Sakura turned her head to the direction of the voice as she smiled at the wall next to Ino.

"Hello" She greeted. Ino patted her head as the four ate breakfast. Ino looked at all of them. She and Shikamaru were like the wife and husband. Chouji was like a dotting uncle and Sakura was like their child. They were a family.

"What do you want to do today Sakura?" Ino asked.

"Outside…" Sakura said.

"You want to go outside?" Ino tilted her head. Sakura nodded.

"She's beginning to say more" Ino commented. "You're doing a good job Shika-kun. The others will be surprised when Sakura is able to talk properly"

"Yeah…" Shikamaru said as he wiped some syrup away from the corner of Sakura's mouth from the pancakes they were eating.

"I heard Naruto-kun and Sasuke are on a special training" Chouji said he stuffed a whole pancake in his mouth.

"Really? why?" Ino asked as she fed Sakura another slice of her pancake.

"Cho welp fhem flear ver fwoughts wuv Fawuwa" Chouji said with his mouth full. Sakura laughed as Ino yelled at him about eating with his mouth full. Shikamaru just said his catchphrase. Chouji swallowed his food as he repeated what he said.

"To help them clear their thoughts about Sakura" Chouji said. "They'll be coming back the week before Halloween"

"That's right Halloween is coming" Ino said excitedly. "We should get Sakura a costume!"

"Kinda early to think about it Ino" Shikamaru said as he took a sip of his orange juice.

"What do you want to be for Halloween Sakura?" Ino asked Sakura. Sakura looked down as if she was thinking very hard. She was quiet for a long time.

"Sakura?" Ino asked again.

"Don't forget Ino, Sakura can't really think…" Shikamaru whispered. They watched as Sakura began to cry. She began to shake her head.

"I-It's okay Sakura. When you find out what you want to be, tell me" Ino said in a motherly voice. Sakura soon nodded as she smiled. "Shikamaru and Chouji are going to take you outside. So I'll change you"

The men watched as Ino got up from the table and put her plate in the sink before heading out. She came back a few minutes later with the wheelchair.

"Let's go Sakura" Ino said in a calm voice as Sakura nodded.

Chouji looked at Shikamaru. "Ino isn't okay, is she" Chouji asked.

"I'm afraid not. She feels guilty about this, so she's doing everything she can to help her" Shikamaru said in a sad voice.

**XxXxXx**

"Say goodbye to Ino, Sakura" Chouji said as they were outside. Sakura waved at the door. Ino smiled and waved back even though Sakura couldn't see her.

"I'll see you later Sakura" Ino said.

Shikamaru pushed Sakura's wheelchair as Chouji walked on the other side of her. The three passed by the marketplace as they heard the villagers gossiping about what happened to their cherry blossom.

"Poor girl. I heard her teammates left her as she fell off a cliff" One of the villagers said loudly. Chouji noticed Shikamaru's knuckles turning white as he ignored the villagers.

"Really? I heard she tried to kill herself"

"I heard that rumor too. She was stressing too much. She fell into depression when Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki left her. Then her parents died. She was alone. Her sensei weren't there for her either. That poor girl"

"No way! I heard she was caught by Akatsuki!"

"Oh no. It must be that Naruto's fault. He put his teammate in danger due to his you know…"

"Shush, lower your voice, they might hear us. We're not supposed to talk about that. Besides the Nara boy and the Akimichi boy are close to that boy"

"Stop talking. You don't even know what you're talking about" A voice shouted. Shikamaru and Chouji looked to see the Sand Siblings talking to the gossipers.

"Kazekage-sama" The villagers bowed. Gaara just nodded his head.

"I hope to no longer hear any more of this talking" Gaara said. Temari soon looked up.

"Hey you! Are you going to stand there or come and greet us?" Shikamaru pushed Sakura to them as Chouji followed. Everyone looked down at the person in the wheelchair.

"Sakura…" Temari whispered. Gaara just stared at Sakura not knowing what to say. It was awkward. Kankuro felt grief when he saw the girl. He soon moved up to her.

"Hey Sakura" Kankuro said as he squatted down. Everyone watched as Sakura reached out her hand, grabbing nothing but air. She had missed Kankuro's face. Kankuro grabbed her hand and placed it on his face. "It's me Kankuro"

"_The poison is in his bloodstream, I have to remove it quickly!"Sakura saw girl, probably 16 hovering over somebody. She looked like the girl from her last vision._

"_Someone go and get me a bowl of water" A nurse brought one to her._

"_Here you go Sakura-san" the nurse said. Her name was Sakura too?_

_She watched as the girl's hands turned green and pulled out something purple and put it in the bowl. After an hour she got all the purple stuff out. Sakura watched as the other Sakura put her hair down._

"_I took all the poison out of Kankuro's body. He's going to be fine" She smiled. Sakura moved over at the table to see this Kankuro, but his face was blurry, just like that blonde girl._

"Okay!" She said.

"She's blind?" Temari whispered to Chouji shocked. Chouji just nodded.

"She has amnesia as well" Shikamaru said.

"Hey Sakura do you remember this voice?" Temari said as she walked up to Sakura. "It's your one and only Temari" Sakura did the same to Temari what she did to Kankuro.

'_You're like an older sister to me' a pink haired girl said._

"_Really?" A girl with four pigtails said. Again she couldn't see their faces, but why!_

"_Yeah, I wish I could be like you" the girl said. "You're so strong and brave. You're not weak"_

"_Thanks Sakura, but you're really strong yourself. You even got Gaara scared with that crazy strength of yours" She watched as the girls hugged each other. Sakura looked at the girl. Of all her visions, she could only see the pink-haired girl's face, but she couldn't see the others. Her name was Sakura too. Was that her?_

"Okay" Sakura said. That was all she could say. Temari just smiled sadly as she looked over at her younger brother.

"Gaara come over here" Gaara slowly walked up to Sakura.

"Hello Sakura-san, this is Gaara" Gaara said. Sakura reacted the same way.

"_Gaara, can you help me?" the other Sakura asked. They were at the beach as it seemed like the girl was trying to make a sand castle._

"_Help with what?" the red-head asked. He looked down to see the girl's sand attempt of making a sand castle._

"_Sand castle of course" She said. The guy sighed as he made a few hand-signs. Soon the sand below began to move as it created a huge sand castle._

"_Gaara, you're such an awesome friend" the girl said as she hugged him._

"Awesome friend…" Sakura repeated what the girl said in her vision.

Gaara's eyes widened as Shikamaru went to them. "She said something, didn't she?" Gaara just nodded as Shikamaru smiled.

"This is great! Now Sakura will be able to talk to us more" Chouji said.

"Well, we'll see you guys around. We need to set up our apartment." Temari said.

"Bye Sakura" The siblings said as Sakura just smiled and waved her hand. She began to pick up this habit when people say goodbye to her.

For the rest of the day, they took Sakura around town as they let her get some fresh air. They soon came back to find Ino on the floor in the living room sleeping. Books were opened around her.

"She wore herself out" Chouji said.

"I'll put Ino in her room" Shikamaru said. "You take Sakura to Ino's room as well"

Chouji nodded as he took the sleeping Sakura in his arms. She was light, a little too light. He began to have a bad feeling about this. The boys tucked in the girls as they closed the door. Shikamaru and Chouji went to their room as they went to sleep.

**XxXxXx**

The boys woke up and went to check up on Ino and Sakura, but they weren't in the room. They went to the living room and kitchen, but they weren't there either. They soon checked in the backyard to see Ino and Sakura in a big hammock. They seemed to be talking as Sakura was laughing.

"Hey you two" Ino greeted.

"Hey Ino. Hey Sakura" Chouji and Shikamaru said. Sakura just waved and smiled to the left of them.

"There's breakfast at the table" Ino said.

"Did you two eat yet?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino nodded. "Yeah, then Sakura wanted to go outside. We were just talking. We soon found out what she wanted to be."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to be for Halloween Sakura?"

Sakura just smiled as a butterfly flew around her.

"Butterfly" She said in a soft voice.

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**Another chapter done. I feel so terrible for her. I'm trying not to make this really sad, not working. Well I hoped you guys liked this chapter. Please review everyone, I beg of you. I really expect alot of reviews, but you can't always get what you want huh?  
**

**-Kumiko**


	5. Chapter 5

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

XxXxXx

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

_The boys woke up and went to check up on Ino and Sakura, but they weren't in the room. They went to the living room and kitchen, but they weren't there either. They soon checked in the backyard to see Ino and Sakura in a big hammock. They seemed to be talking as Sakura was laughing._

"_Hey you two" Ino greeted. _

"_Hey Ino. Hey Sakura" Chouji and Shikamaru said. Sakura just waved and smiled to the left of them._

"_There's breakfast at the table" Ino said._

"_Did you two eat yet?" Shikamaru asked._

_Ino nodded. "Yeah, then Sakura wanted to go outside. We were just talking. We soon found out what she wanted to be."_

_Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you want to be for Halloween Sakura?"_

_Sakura just smiled as a butterfly flew around her._

"_Butterfly" She said in a soft voice._

**XxXxXx**

The next three weeks were the same. Shikamaru would be teaching Sakura how to speak again, Chouji would help Sakura with everything, and Ino would do both while reading the scrolls and books at night. At times, the sand siblings would come over and help out. Sakura was beginning to speak better, surprising to the others. The bad news? The three started to notice how light she was…it was starting to worry them.

The boys noticed Ino would work herself out, reading the books and scrolls, but said nothing except today. The four went to the park as Sakura was on the swings with Chouji. Shikamaru was on the grass looking up at the clouds while Ino had brought scrolls and was reading them.

"Ino, take a break" Shikamaru said.

"After this scroll" Ino said as she bit on an apple.

"Troublesome woman" Shikamaru muttered under his breath. He soon heard someone fall and was crying. Ino and Shikamaru looked up to see Sakura on the floor while clutching her head. Ino had immediately run up to Sakura.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino asked. Chouji looked scared as he tried to comfort her.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked.

"S-Sakura was swinging then all of a sudden she just fell…" Chouji said shaking a tad bit.

"Hurts…" Sakura cried.

"What hurts?" Ino asked as she grabbed Ino's hand. Ino began to rub her thumb on her skin. This was a way to tell Sakura if it were Ino, Shikamaru, or Chouji with her. This became another habit for the four.

"Head hurts bad…"Sakura said still crying. Ino sent charka to her hands and put it on Sakura's head. Sakura's expression soon softened as her cries slowly decreased into hiccups.

"Is that better Sakura?" Ino asked. Sakura nodded as she smiled again.

"Tank you" Sakura said as she was smiling to the right of Ino.

"I'm right here, silly" Ino teased as she touched Sakura's hand and brought it up to her face.

"Okay" Sakura said.

A loud bark was heard as Sakura was tackled by a big white dog. It licked her on the face as Sakura giggled.

"Kitty!" She said patting Akamaru. Akamaru barked happily.

"Uh, Sakura, that's not a cat, that's a dog" Chouji said. Ino and Shikamaru made a face as they heard yelling and footsteps.

"Akamaru, why did you run off?!" A voice called out. "Hey, it's Sakura!" Kiba said running up to them

"S-Sakura-chan?" Hinata followed after.

"Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino are here as well" Shino said.

"We finally get to see you Sakura" Kiba said. "It's Kiba. I bet you know who the dog is" Sakura just raised her hands to where she though Kiba's face would be.

"_How is he?" A man with spiky brown hair asked._

"_Akamaru is going to be fine Kiba" Again, there was that pink haired girl. In all her visions, everyone would call her Sakura. So that must be her. She still wondered why everyone's face was still blurry. The blond girl's, the pineapple boy's, and the chubby boy's faces were slowly becoming clear. Also the girl with the pigtails, the red-head, and the boy with paint on his face were also becoming clear every time they visited._

"_I was so scared Sakura" The boy said. They looked to see a small dog resting. For some reason, she could see the dog clearly._

"_It's okay. He'll be okay" the other Sakura said as she pulled the guy into a hug._

"_Thank you"_

Sakura smiled as she was looking at Hinata instead of Kiba.

"Okay" Sakura smiled.

"Okay?" Shino repeated.

"It's a habit she does when people introduce themselves to her. She would always touch their faces as she spaces out." Ino explained. Soon Sakura patted the dog. "Hey Akamaru"

Akamaru barked happily as he licked her face again. "Got bigger" Sakura said. Everyone looked surprised.

"S-Sakura-chan, do you remember Akamaru?" Hinata asked. Sakura nodded. The dog felt larger than the dog in her vision, but she had a feeling it was the same dog.

"H-How about me?" Hinata went up to Sakura as Sakura touched her face.

"Um…" Sakura said.

"Huh? Eh, H-Hinata" Hinata replied.

_A girl with long blue hair fell to the ground._

"_You're getting stronger Hinata-chan!" the other Sakura said. Again with the blurry face._

"_N-No. Y-You beat me a-again. This is the t-tenth time" the girl said._

"_It's because you're holding back. Come at me with your full strength." Sakura said helping the girl up._

"_B-But…"_

"_Don't worry, I'll be okay" the other Sakura got into what seemed like a fighting stance. The blue haired girl nodded as she too got into the same stance._

"_Come at me with all you got" her other self said as the blue haired girl charged at her. With one hand, she had sent her other self into a tree._

"_S-Sakura-chan!" The girl cried out as she ran to the other Sakura. "I-I-I-'m so sorry, I just did what you told me, b-but I didn't think I'd hit you that hard…"_

"_Hinata-chan…" the other Sakura said as she hugged the timid girl. "Now that's what I'm talking about"_

"Okay" She said.

"I am Shino" He said as he patted Sakura's hands. Sakura's hands went up to his glasses then to his face.

'_Hey Shino" the other Sakura greeted as she went up to a guy who you could barely see the face of, but it was still blurry._

"_Sakura-san" The man greeted. It seemed like they were at a party as her other self went outside to see the mysterious man._

"_Why aren't you inside having some fun?" she saw herself asked._

"_I should be asking you the same question" the man said. She smiled._

"_I felt like getting some fresh air, its hot when you danced a lot"_

"_I see"_

"_So how about you Shino-san?" Sakura asked. The man didn't say anything for several seconds as the girl thought she made him mad, but he soon began to talk._

"_It felt awkward inside. I don't really socialize as much. I would have stuck with Hinata and Kiba, but they went off dancing" the guy said. Sakura soon watched as the two were at the balcony looking up at the sky._

"_Then, I'll stay with you and keep you company. This will be a chance for you and me to be good friends" Sakura smiled as the guy looked at her surprised. _

"_I'd like that" He said._

"Okay…" Sakura said. "…friend"

Shino looked at her surprised before nodding. "Yes, we…are friends"

"Whoa…didn't see that coming" Kiba commented. So for the rest of the day, team 8 spent the day with Sakura and the others. The sun was soon setting.

"We better go now" Kiba said.

"Us too" Ino said.

"See you next time Sakura-chan" Hinata said as she and her team got up to leave. Sakura felt Akamaru leave her as she waved goodbye the wrong way. Team 8 felt their hearts break slowly..

"It's time to take a bath Sakura" Ino said. Shikamaru brought the wheelchair as Chouji helped Sakura onto the wheelchair as he rubbed her hand. Ino soon pushed Sakura down the path.

**XxXxXx**

"Sakura, in just a few days it's going to be Halloween!" Ino squealed. "It would be crowded if we took you down to the stores. It would be packed there. So I've been making your costume"

"You have?" Shikamaru and Chouji said in sync.

"Yes I have" Ino said as she blew her bangs away from her face. "Anyways, this should fit you. It's green"

"What are you going to be Ino?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'll be a butterfly with Sakura. It's more of a fairy, but they look the same" Ino said. "How about you?"

"It's too troublesome, but I'll be a vampire" Shikamaru said as he yawned.

"Pumpkin!" Chouji said.

"I knew you two would say that" Ino said giggling. Sakura didn't know what was going on, so she just smiled.

"Then why did you ask?" Shikamaru looked at Ino to see her just smiling at them.

Soon someone knocked on the door. Chouji opened it to reveal Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan, we're back!" Naruto said as he zoomed into the house in a blur of yellow, orange, and black to Sakura and hugged her. Sakura panicked before she calmed down. She felt something strong inside of her, but she couldn't tell what it was. All she knew was that she felt safe in his arms.

"Hn…" Sasuke said as he walked next to his friends.

Sakura felt someone coming up to her as she waved at the door, not Sasuke. "Hello"

Naruto's mouth dropped as Sasuke's eyes widened for a few seconds before turning back to his usual emotionless ones.

"She can talk?" Naruto said.

"Not really but we're getting there" Chouji said. "Ino and Shikamaru has been working hard to help Sakura"

"Is that your costume Ino?" Naruto asked seeing the green dress in her hands.

Ino shook her head. "No, it's going to be Sakura's. Isn't that right, Sakura?" Sakura smiled as she nodded.

"There, done!" Sakura clapped her hands. "I'll go put this away" Ino got up and but her sewing kit away in her room.

"Yamanaka seems tired" Sasuke commented noticing the dark lines under Ino's eyes.

"Ah" Shikamaru said. "She's been working hard helping Sakura. She stays up reading books and scrolls to help Sakura. I really wished she'd take a break. Tsunade's been dropping by every week to help Sakura with her eye sight."

"Is it getting better?" Naruto asked.

"It's better than before, but still not good" Chouji said.

"Oh did you know that Gaara and his siblings are here?" Ino asked Naruto and Sasuke.

"They are?" Naruto said. "I haven't seen them for like forever."

"Oh yeah, Sakura also remembers Akamaru" Chouji said.

"I see" Sasuke said. Chouji nodded as he popped another potato chip into his mouth.

"But that's all she remembers." Shikamaru said.

"But that means her condition is improving!" Naruto said excitedly. He soon ran up to Sakura and lifted her up in the air and spun her around. "Sakura-chan, you're going to get better"

"IDIOT! PUT SAKURA DOWN!" Ino shouted as she came back into the room. Sakura just smiled at him as he put her back on her wheelchair.

"Idiot" Sakura repeated. Naruto's mouth dropped to the ground.

"Good job Sakura" Sasuke commented as he ruffled Sakura's hair.

"Hey! Don't teach her that! Don't say that word Sakura-chan" Naruto said.

"Idiot" Sakura said a little bit happier. Naruto made a face as Sasuke smirked.

"We have to go Dobe. Tsunade still needs to talk to me about my stay here in Konoha" Sasuke said.

"Okay, bye everyone" Naruto soon closed the door.

"He's still an idiot" Ino said.

"But it seems like his mood lightened up" Shikamaru said as the three looked over at Sakura.

"Yeah…" Ino whispered. She noticed the light blush on Sakura's pale cheeks.

**XxXxXx**

"Happy Halloween!" Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji said in sync as Kurenai opened her door with a bowl of candy in her arms. Her belly was getting big. She was now about seven months pregnant.

"Hallo" Sakura said. Kurenai tried to smile when she saw Sakura. She was wearing the beautiful green dress that went up a little above her knees. (**A/N: Think of tinkerbell) **She had cute butterfly antennas and see through wings. She looked really cute and innocent but looking at her like that broke her heart.

"Hello, Sakura. Do you remember me?" Her voice began to trigger something in Sakura's head.

"_You have a potential in becoming a genjutsu user. You have the perfect charka control for it" a lady with long black hair said._

"_I do?" Sakura asked._

"_Yup, if you want, you can come to me after your training with the Hokage" The lady soon found herself in a hug._

"_Thank you so much Kurenai-sensei" Sakura said._

"K-Kurenai-sensei…" Sakura said. Kurenai's red eyes widened as a smile formed.

"Correct" Kurenai said. Ino watched the scene as she took a mental note about it.

"Bye you four" Kurenai said as she said goodbye. Sakura just smiled as she waved goodbye.

"First Akamaru, now Kurenai-sensei? How come Sakura couldn't remember us that easily?" Ino asked out loud.

Nobody answered as they went to the next house.

The door opened to reveal Kakashi as a scarecrow. He looked to see Sakura smiling at the doorbell.

"Hello Sakura" Kakashi said.

"Let's see if she could remember Kakashi-sensei" Chouji said. "He's really close to her"

"Hallo" Sakura said.

"You mean hello?" Kakashi tried to correct her, but Sakura shook her head.

"Hallow!" She repeated as she lifted her bag full of candy. He then understood what she was trying to say.

'_Oh yeah, that's right. She has trouble speaking…' _Kakashi thought sadly.

"Yes, Happy Halloween" Kakashi said putting candy in each other their bags. "You look cute tonight Sakura" Sakura just smiled.

"Say thank you" Ino whispered.

"Tank you…um…" Sakura didn't know what to say next.

"I'm Kakashi-sensei. I'm your sensei" Kakashi said, sad that she forgot about him.

'_They're all gone…' A sad Sakura was crying. "Why is everyone leaving me? First it was Sasuke-kun, then Naruto, now my parents."_

_A tall figure came and pulled Sakura into a hug as she cried. Sakura looked up to see the man had a mask on his face, but again it was blurry._

"_You still have me Sakura. You also have everyone here in Konoha. Don't worry, Naruto will be back, and with Sasuke too"_

"_Thank you Kakashi-sensei"_

"Okay…" Sakura said. Kakashi ruffled her hair as he sent them off.

"She didn't remember him" Ino said.

"Hm… " Shikamaru said.

"What do you think?" Ino asked.

"Maybe she doesn't really remember the people closest to her. That would make all of the rookie nine, and Gai's team, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, Gaara and his siblings, then the Hokage and Shizune" Shikamaru said.

"That would make sense" Chouji said as he moved Sakura to the next house. "Let's go to the next house"

"Wait. But does that mean, she would have a difficult time remembering the people really close to her like Naruto, Sasuke, and…me?" Ino asked.

"That's a possibility" Shikamaru said.

"I see…" Ino said sadly as she watched Chouji and Sakura get candy from the next house. Shikamaru noticed the sudden tone of voice.

"Don't worry about it Ino. It just a guess, I'm not positive" Shikamaru said trying to cheer her up.

"Y-Yeah, it's just a guess" Ino said.

"Hey!" The two looked up to see Naruto and Sasuke with their costumes. Naruto was a fox as Sasuke was a devil.

"Hey Naruto; Hey Sasuke" Ino and Shikamaru greeted.

"Ino!" a voice called out. They looked to see Tenten and her team behind her. Tenten was dressed up as a female pirate as Neji and Lee were dressed up as male ones.

"How cute. You guys dressed up together" Ino complimented.

"Hey, it's a reunion" Kiba's voice was heard. Kiba was dressed up as a prince as Hinata was a princess. Shino was dressed up as a King.

"You guys dressed up together too?" Shikamaru asked. Shino nodded.

"I-Is that Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked pointing to the where Chouji and Sakura were in line for candy.

"Yeah"

"She's a fairy like you?" Neji asked.

"Even with her condition, Sakura-san still looks youthful!" Lee said as he had anime tears in his eyes.

"Yo" A female voice said.

"Temari!" Ino, Tenten, and Hinata said.

Temari was dressed up as a witch. Gaara was a scary clown and Kankuro was a mummy.

"Happy Halloween" Temari and Kankuro greeted.

"Hallo!"A voice said. Everyone looked to see Sakura in her wheelchair smiling at a tree to the right of her friends.

"Hello" Everyone greeted back. Sasuke just hned.

"She means, Happy Halloween" Ino explained. "She can only say the "Hallo" part of Halloween"

"Oh…" Naruto said.

"You look so cute Sakura-chan!" Tenten said.

"Where did you get your outfit at?" Temari said.

"…." Sakura didn't know what to say. She knew it was from the girl who's been taking care of her, but she kept forgetting her name. "I-I-"

"Ino made it for her" Sasuke said helping Sakura out.

Sakura looked at the sound of the voice as she nodded happily.

"Tank you" Sakura said.

"Hn" Sasuke said as he patted her shoulder.

"Candy?" Sakura asked trying to lift up her heavy bag of candy.

"No" Sasuke said as Sakura nodded putting a lollipop in her mouth.

"Come on Sakura-chan, let's go to the next house together" Naruto said pushing Sakura's wheelchair.

"Naruto!" Ino shouted as she tried to go after the two but Sasuke pulled her back.

"Let them be" Sasuke said. Ino looked at him watching Naruto happily move Sakura.

"She seems to be getting better" Neji commented. "Compared to how she was in the beginning of the month"

"You're doing a good job Ino" Tenten said.

"Ah" Sasuke said.

"Thanks" Ino said. "You can do a good job taking care of her in December. It will be your turn after all"

"Hn…" Sasuke whispered. He kept thinking about how Sakura could end up like this. His guilt in his heart just kept growing. How could he take care of something he once broke apart?

**XxXxXxX**

**This part is for blossom221. She wanted a little GaaSaku fluff in here. So here it is.**

Gaara couldn't believe he let his siblings and the others talk him into taking care of Sakura for the day. He understood that Ino and her teammates needed a break, but why him of all people?

He looked to see Sakura on her wheelchair smiling at him. It was already almost nine at night. The others should have come back by now.

"Gaara-san?" Sakura called out.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"Night time?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's night time. Do you want to go to bed?" Gaara said coming up to her. She shook her head.

"I want to see stars!" She said with a smile.

The two was soon outside Ino's backyard sitting on the hammock between the trees. The stars were shining bright up in the dark sky, not that Sakura could see it. He had brought a blanket out for both of them since it was cold.

"What it look like?" Sakura asked.

"What does what look like?"

"The stars…" Sakura said.

"They're like little white dots in the sky" Gaara said.

"I see" Sakura whispered.

"Do Gaara-san like stars?"

"They're okay" Gaara answered. He felt Sakura shift closer to him

"I like stars. They grant wishes!" Sakura said as she rested her head on his shoulders. "I like to make…wish...Gaara-san…"

"Sakura?" Gaara heard nothing but the soft breathing coming from his pink-haired friend. He looked up at the sky and saw a large star that caught his attention.

"Grant wishes huh?" Gaara whispered. "Then I wish for you to get better and be happy" Gaara soon planted a kiss on top of Sakura's head as the two lay on the hammock and that's how the other's found the two.

-

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**Taa-daa! Sakura is getting better thanks to Ino and her team. It's already been one month since Ino's been taking good care of her. How will the next month be? Thank you everyone for reading so far. Please review.**

**-Kumiko**


	6. Chapter 6

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

XxXxXx

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Come on Sakura-chan, let's go to the next house together" Naruto said pushing Sakura's wheelchair._

"_Naruto!" Ino shouted._

"_Let them be" Sasuke said. Ino looked at him watching Naruto happily move Sakura._

"_She seems to be getting better" Neji commented. "Compared to how she was in the beginning of the month"_

"_You're doing a good job Ino" Tenten said._

"_Ah" Sasuke said._

"_Thanks" Ino said. "You can do a good job taking care of her in December. It will be your turn after all"_

"_Hn…" Sasuke whispered. He kept thinking about how Sakura could end up like this. His guilt in his heart just kept growing. How could he take care of something he once broke apart?_

**XxXxXx**

"It's November!" Chouji said looking outside the window as brown, yellow, and red leaves from the tree were falling down. It's been a few days since the month has started. Sakura's speech has 

been getting better to where she could talk in sentences now. Though Tsunade had come and tried to heal Sakura's eyes, she was still blind and couldn't remember the others, except for Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kurenai, and Akamaru.

"Where's Ino?" Shikamaru asked. Chouji pointed to the girls swinging in the hammock. Ino was hugging Sakura as she seemed to be healing Sakura's eyes again. Sakura was now able to remove the bandage from her left eye. It seemed pretty normal, but she couldn't see.

"You're getting better Sakura" Ino said as she played with Sakura's hair. "I'm glad"

"Me too" Sakura whispered as she fixed her white scarf around her neck. Sakura's bangs were covering her forehead again.

"We need to do something about those bangs of yours" Ino said. "In fact, I'll give you back your red ribbon"

"Red ribbon…" Sakura repeated.

"_There see? What an improvement!" It was a vision of that blond girl again but her face was much clearer than before. She saw the little Sakura wearing a red ribbon on her hair. "You look a lot better. You can keep the ribbon"_

"_Oh…um thanks" The little Sakura said. "But…"_

"_But what?" the blond girl asked._

"_But my forehead"_

"_I'm telling you!" the girl said pointing a finger up. "The more you try to hide it, the bigger of a deal you make it. Your face isn't even that bad. It's a cute face! You just got to be more confident"_

"Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked. Sakura nodded as she felt Ino tie the ribbon on her head.

"There, your hair looks better. It's getting longer too" Ino said.

"_Ino-chan! I heard Sasuke-kun likes girls with long hair!"_

Sakura's eyes widened as she clutched her head.

"_I heard you liked Sasuke-kun too. I guess that means we're rivals"_

"Sakura! What's wrong" Ino asked as she felt Sakura shake.

"_Well, it seems like someone has grown their hair long" the blonde girl said as they seemed to be older. They were facing back to back._

"_Seems like I'm not the only one!"_

"_Why did you get to be in Sasuke-kun's team?!" The blonde yelled as she turned around._

"_Face it Ino, I'm going to win!" Sakura glared at the blonde._

"_You think so? I will never let you beat me, no matter how hard you try"_

Sakura soon fell to the ground as Chouji and Shikamaru had seen it from inside.

"Sakura" Shikamaru shouted as they ran outside to Sakura. Sakura continued to clutch her head as tears formed in her eyes. What were these visions? She watched as she began to see something else but darkness.

_She soon saw images of the two girls fighting in front of a lot of people. Many more memories came to mind, but she still couldn't see the face clearly. Soon the last vision came to her…_

"_**You're so useless! Why was I ever friends with such a person?"**_

Sakura's eyes widened as she finally saw for the first time. She saw the girl from her vision then saw Shikamaru and Chouji surrounding her in panic.

"I-I can see…" Sakura said out loud. Soon she began to feel light-headed as she coughed out blood. She began to fall to the ground.

"SAKURA!" the blond girl shouted.

**XxXxXx**

"How is she Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked worried. Tsunade looked at the girl in the hospital bed. "I check to see what was going on with her. But it seems like her head has been messed up. But I don't know how. No one else should have been healing her except me."

Ino's eyes widened as Shikamaru felt her hand trembling.

"She's going to be in a coma" Tsunade said. "There is going to be bad side effects from this"

Ino didn't know what to say. It was her fault. She was the one trying to heal Sakura. Did she mess up on a hand-seal? Ino soon ran out of the room with Shikamaru following her.

"Ino!" Shikamaru shouted as he softly pushed Ino against the wall. Their foreheads were touching.

"I-It's my fault" Ino whispered. "I tried to heal Sakura, but I must have done something. I messed up. Just as she was getting better, this happened. It's my fault" Ino fell to her knees as Shikamaru tried to calm her down.

"It's not your fault. It couldn't be. It must be something else" Shikamaru whispered to her ear.

**XxXxXx**

It had been a few days since Sakura was in the hospital. She was in a light coma as Tsunade tried to find out what was wrong with her apprentice. She said it was something with her mind. Ino had locked herself up in her room. Shikamaru and Chouji were worried about her as they tried to get her out.

Ino sighed as she went to get something to eat, but there was nothing in the kitchen. She soon left the house to get some fresh air. After a couple minutes, Ino looked up to see where she was. She made a face. The Yamanaka Flower shop….

What was she doing here again? Oh yeah, that's right, Tsunade said Sakura was having problems with her mind. She began to wonder if she could use her clan's jutsu to help Sakura. She had the ability to go into people's minds.

The bell dinged as Mrs. Yamanaka turned around.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower shop, what can I do for you t-…" She saw her only daughter standing there crying.

"I-Ino-chan…" Mrs. Yamanaka began to take a step forward as her daughter fell to her knees. Ino soon broke down crying as her mom hugged her.

"I'm so scared mom. I-I don't know what to do. I don't want to lose her" Ino cried

The two entered the kitchen as Ino's mom made her breakfast. Ino began to tell her mom what she had been thinking. Mrs. Yamanaka had missed her daughter deeply. Shikamaru had told her what was going on with Sakura.

"I heard about Sakura-chan" Mrs. Yamanaka said. "But you're on to something" Ino had looked up at her mom.

"Do you think it will work?" Ino asked.

"Personally, I've never seen it done. But I believe you can do it"

**XxXxXx**

"Ino, are you sure this is a good idea?" Shikamaru asked as Ino had dragged him into the hospital. "If the Hokage catches us, she'll…"

"Chill Shikamaru and just get ready to catch my body" Ino made the proper hand signs as she sent her spirit into Sakura.

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru said as he saw Ino's body about to fall.

Ino opened her eyes to see herself in a dark room.

"**Hey Ino-pig. It's about time you came here"** A voice said. Ino looked around to see…

"Long time no see Inner Sakura" Ino greeted. Inner Sakura looked exactly like Sakura except that she had darker pink hair and green eyes. Her outfit was also black and white. The last time she had saw her she was like an outlined version.

"**You're here to save Sakura, I assume" **Inner Sakura said walking up to her.

"You got that right" Ino said. "Can you help me?"

Inner Sakura shrugged. **"I can, but it won't be that easily. That Itachi fucked up her mind. Now Sakura's mind is like a labyrinth. There are many doors, but we have to be careful for booby traps. We have to find a room filled of treasure boxes, but there will be something trying to stop us. I know it"**

"Are you kidding me?" Ino cried out.

"**Nope. We have to hurry up!" **Inner Sakura said as she pulled Ino by the arm.

The two had entered a door as Ino saw multiple doors. Her mouth dropped. Ino walked a few steps as she was about to open a door.

"**Don't" **Inner Sakura said as Ino jumped. **"I've opened that door before. It's not a pretty sight…"**

"What do you mean?" Ino asked as she opened the door. Ino was soon pulled into room as Inner Sakura cursed.

"**That girl…"**

Ino's blue eyes opened to see her in an unknown room. She felt herself looking at her hands that were holding a box full of scrolls. Ino soon felt hands on hers as she turned around to see red eyes.

"I-Itachi…Uchiha…" Ino heard someone whisper. She felt a shiver down her spine once she said his name. That was Sakura's voice

"What are you doing in my room, kunoichi?" Itachi asked.

'_His room? He's always after Naruto, so it would make sense that he would have all those scrolls.'_ Ino could hear Sakura's thoughts. She was in Sakura's mind.

'_Naruto…'_ Naruto's smiling face was the last thing in her mind as she fell into darkness. But Ino quickly woke up to see herself or saw through Sakura's mind that she was chained to a wall.

'_W-Was this what Sakura went through on that mission?' _Ino thought as she could feel everything Sakura felt and thought.

"P-Please stop…" Sakura's voice cried. Ino felt like she was going to throw up. Blood was all over the floor as Sakura herself was covered in it.

"I'm amazed at how strong you got, being able to sneak into the base and making it into my room without getting caught. No one was supposed to know about that box. Now how can someone like you know about?" Itachi asked as he stabbed Sakura in the stomach.

'**Just tell him it was Deidara…' **Ino could hear inner Sakura say.

Sakura said nothing as Itachi grabbed her chin to make her look at him.

"Answer me Kunoichi, or does Naruto-kun mean nothing to you" Sakura glared at him as she spit the blood in her mouth onto his face. Ino was shocked that Sakura did such a thing.

"Bitch" Itachi said as he slapped her across the face. He soon forced her to look into his eyes as his eyes seemed to be spinning. "For the next 72 hours, you will nothing but pain and suffering" Itachi said as Sakura screamed in pain.

Ino soon felt someone pulling her back into the hallways of the labyrinth.

"**Finally, I got you!"** Inner Sakura said as she saw Ino crying. **"I told you not to open that door."**

"How could she have suffered like that?" Ino whispered. Inner Sakura felt Ino trembling in her hug.

"**It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. But when Itachi put us in his jutsu of his, he entered Sakura's mind as I fought him. He was quite surprised that she had someone like me in her mind. Made us feel proud that we were able to shock Itachi Uchiha. After a while, I kicked his ass much to his displeasure while making his eye vision worse" **Inner Sakura began to laugh but soon stopped**. **

"**But in return, he did something to Sakura, but I guess you can tell what it was. He messed with her nerve cells and mind, causing her to be like this. Then he left us to die in that confinement room. She barely had anything to eat that whole time in there. The only time we got food was from this one member with an orange mask. Really polite I must say."**

Ino didn't know what to say as she tried to take this all in. Inner Sakura just continued.

"**Then there was this one day when Itachi visited us. Sakura couldn't reply back to him because of what he had done to her before. But he realized that I could hear him and talk to him so he entered Sakura's mind again and talked to me. He kept asking how Sasuke was, if he was getting stronger, it was our really normal conversation with no fighting. I was surprised he was asking such questions. I mean, he killed his entire family but he acted like he cared about Sasuke. So we were caught off guard by the question. It seemed like he had been drinking. I could tell by the smell of his breath. He started to talk to us about why he killed the Uchiha clan. I was shocked when he told me that the Third Hokage was the one who ordered him to kill his own clan because the Uchiha clan was actually working with Danzou to take over Konoha. He left Sasuke to live because he loved him so much. He didn't want to die with the guilt of killing his family so he made Sasuke like this to kill him."**

Ino's mouth dropped to the ground. "WHAT!" This was too much information to her. "You have to tell the Hokage!"

"**I can't do that Ino-pig"**

"Why not?"

"**I can't take over Sakura's body. Somehow, I'm being prevented from doing so. Even if I try telling Sakura this much information at once, her mind will overwork and all the progress you and your friends have been making with her will be all for nothing."**

"Then tell Sasuke!" Ino said crossing her arms to her chest.

"**Do you think Sasuke-kun is going to believe us? He might hurt you. Trust me, give it time. I'll try to do something okay?" Inner Sakura smiled.**

"You promise?" Ino asked sticking out her pinky finger. Inner Sakura nodded.

"**I promise. Now come on, we have to find that room. We also have to be careful with the doors we opened. We might be opening a door to another one of Sakura's memories, her dreams, or her nightmares. As long as you stay with me, you'll be okay"**

"Got it" Ino said. The two ended up at a door as Inner Sakura grabbed Ino's hand.

"**Ready?"** Ino nodded as Inner Sakura opened the door. The two felt something pull them as they ended up in seeing themselves hanging onto Shikamaru's hand.

"Sakura! What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?" Shikamaru yelled at her. Ino and Inner Sakura felt Sakura's eyes widened as she started to cry.

"Why did you save me? Let me go. That way you and Yuuki can be saved. Please tell everyone I'm sorry for being a burden to them. With me gone, everything will be better right?" Sakura soon reached for her left glove as she unbuttoned it. Ino felt something in the pit of her stomach.

"Look, I need to go back to Akatsuki's base. I saw something in the room I found Yuuki in; something about the Kyuubi and the Uchiha clans. This can help Naruto and Sasuke. I won't be a burden anymore. I'll do something useful to prove myself. Please don't go after me. Just complete the mission" Sakura said. Ino began to feel the guilt in her heart.

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. At least let me go with you! Neji and Lee can complete the mission for us"

"I want to do it myself. This is for me. I want to prove myself" Sakura said.

"But…"

Sakura just smiled at him. His eyes widened. It was one of her genuine true smiles. She never smiled like that for a long time. Ino was saddened that Sakura had truly smiled but it wasn't her that made her smile.

"I promise I'll come back" Sakura said. "Take care Shikamaru and thank you" With that, Sakura's hand slipped out of her glove as she fell. Shikamaru screamed as loud as he could as Sakura fell into the ocean.

Inner Sakura and Ino were soon pulled back to the hallways, and ended up facing a staircase.

"That was how she fell…" Ino asked quietly. Inner Sakura didn't say anything as they continued to go up.

"**I've never been this far yet. I opened all the doors downstairs. I had to go through all those painful memories again." **Inner Sakura said quietly.

"I see…" Was all Ino could say as she took a step closer. Ino felt her foot go deeper into the floor. "What the hell?" Inner Sakura looked down as they heard the sound of arrows getting ready.

"**Arrows!" **Inner Sakura said as she and Ino covered their heads while running away from them.

"What the heck!" Ino shouted.

"**There seems to be booby traps here" **Inner Sakura soon tripped over a wire as they heard rumbling sounds.

"What's that sound?" Ino asked. Inner Sakura looked up to see a boulder heading their way.

"**Are you kidding me? This isn't Indiana Jones!" **Inner Sakura screamed as they ran the other direction. Ino quickly opened a door and pulled Inner Sakura with her.

Ino looked to see Sakura crying. This time she wasn't in Sakura's mind, but actually just watching the scene.

"**This was when Sakura broke"** Inner Sakura said as Ino stared at her. **"She might have truly loved Sasuke, but he…"**

Inner Sakura stopped when Sakura began to yell.

"If you leave, I'll scream!" Sakura cried. Ino watched as Sasuke appeared behind Sakura. Her eyes widened when she saw him have a sincere look in his eyes.

"Sakura…" Sasuke said as Sakura just listened to him. "Thank you" With that Sasuke hit the nerve point in her back as she fainted.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered. They watched as Sasuke quickly caught Sakura's body before she fell to the ground. He carried her bridal style to the bench as he laid her down. Staring at her face, he moved the bangs away from her face.

"Sakura. Thank you for making me realize what i have here in Konoha..." Sasuke said as he kissed her on the forehead. "I know i can leave you in Konoha with Naruto. He will take good care of you. I will not endanger my important people. So i have to break bonds..." With that Sasuke left.

The girls were soon brought back to the hallways. **"I was still able to hear Sasuke said that to us before I too fainted. When we woke up, Sakura felt broken and betrayed, but I convinced her and told her what Sasuke had said. Two years later, I helped her realize her feelings for Naruto. I finally made her understand how Sasuke really felt about her and she was okay with it. She was happy that he at least thought about her as a close friend."**

"Sakura…" Ino whispered. The two continued to walk as they ended up in a hallway with six doors.

"There only seems to be six doors left" Ino said looking around. "Let's check into this room" Inner Sakura nodded as they entered the door.

The two heard crying as they saw a little Naruto crying alone as he had gotten a beating by one of the adults.

"H-How cruel" Ino said. "Just thinking such a thing happened to Naruto is heartbreaking. I'm surprised he didn't end up like Gaara"

"**You want to know why he didn't. Just watch" **

Footsteps were heard as they saw a little Sakura walking up to Naruto.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sakura asked. Naruto lifted his head to see the person who was talking to him. He soon blushed as he nodded his head. Sakura made a face as she saw his bruises.

"Come on, follow me" Sakura said as she grabbed Naruto by the hand and dragged him to a little creek. Ino watched as Sakura tore a piece of her dress and soaked up some water as she cleaned Naruto's face.

"Why?" Naruto asked not use to the kindness. Sakura didn't look at him but continue to work on fixing him up.

"My mom said I shouldn't talk to you. But there was this one day I saw you crying like you were earlier. I wondered why no one was helping you when you cried. So when I saw you today, I wanted to know why" Sakura said as she finished cleaning him.

"I'm just hated by everyone" Naruto said. "I just want everyone to acknowledge me.

"I don't hate you" Sakura said as she smiled at him. "You need to be more confident! That's what my friend Ino-chan said." Ino smiled at the younger Sakura.

"Confident?" Naruto repeated. Sakura nodded as she took out her lunch.

"Here" Sakura said. "My mom made me lunch today, but she gave me too much. Do you want some?"

Naruto's mouth watered when he saw her bento box. Ino smiled. This scene was so cute.

Sakura giggled as she put some food into Naruto's mouth.

"Eat. I don't want my friend to be starving" Sakura said.

"fwriend?" Naruto looked at her surprised as he swallowed the food down his throat.

"Yes, friends" Sakura said as she laughed.

Ino and Inner Sakura were pulled back. The two were happy with the scene they saw.

"Well, there are only five rooms left" Ino said as Inner Sakura opened another door.

"Naruto!" Sakura said out of breath as she finally caught up to Naruto at the gates.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he ran to her.

"Y-You're actually going…" Sakura mumbled not looking up at Naruto. Jiraiya just let the two talk.

"Yeah. I'll be gone for two years. But when I come back I'll be stronger to protect you" Naruto said giving Sakura a good guy pose. He was soon caught in an embrace.

"Promise me you'll come back safe and sound" Sakura said. Naruto nodded.

"I will" Sakura soon smiled as she turned her attention to Jiraiya.

"And you! You better take care of him" Sakura said as Jiraiya sweat dropped.

"I got it, I got it" Jiraiya said putting his hands up.

Sakura watched as Naruto and Jiraiya left her at the gates.

"First Sasuke-kun, now Naruto…" Sakura whispered as teats formed in her eyes. She brought her hands to the left side of her chest as she cried once the gates closed. "My team is falling apart…"

Ino tried to reach for Sakura but was pulled back once again.

"**That wasn't the room…"**

"Let's try this one" Ino said.

Sakura was standing in front of the Memorial stone as it was raining.

"They're all gone…" A sad Sakura was crying. "Why is everyone leaving me? First it was Sasuke-kun, then Naruto, now my parents." Sakura shakily traced her fingers on the stone.

A tall figure came and pulled Sakura into a hug as she cried. Sakura looked up to see the man had a mask on his face.

"K-Kakashi-sensei…"

"You still have me Sakura. You also have everyone here in Konoha. Don't worry, Naruto will be back, and with Sasuke too"

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei" Sakura said hugging him tight. "I feel so empty now. The team is falling apart. I don't know what to do anymore. What if you leave me too?"

"I promise I won't leave you Sakura" Kakashi said.

"**Kakashi-sensei broke that promise a few weeks later as he went back to the ANBU for the next two years. So we barely saw him. Everyone else was with their team, so we didn't come to any of you guys and just kept it to ourselves. We didn't want to put our burden on you guys. Sakura began to take more dangerous missions"**

"I-I could have been there for her more" Ino whispered as they went to the fourth door.

"It's raining" Ino said.

"**This mission…" **Inner Sakura said sadly. Ino gave her a questioning look before looking up ahead. Her eyes widened as she pulled Inner Sakura to the sad dying Sakura on the ground. She was covered in blood with senbon and kunai struck into her. Ino tried to help her but her hands went through Sakura's body. **"This mission was an S-rank one. Sakura was to sneak into Orochimaru's lair and get more information on him and Sasuke, but Kabuto caught us and left us to this condition as you can see"**

"Was I supposed to die like this?" Sakura asked out loud. "Is the sky crying because it feels sorry for me? Mom…Dad…are you guys watching me lying here? Are you guys the one crying? I know I'm dying but all I want is to ask for one thing and for one thing only. I wish for my important people to be happy. I want Sasuke to feel the happiness he had missed out all those years. I want Kakashi to no longer feel loneliness and regret. Last and not least, I want Naruto to feel loved. I want him to be happy. He would be a great Hokage. For me, that's all I want just for them to be happy." Sakura began to cough out blood as Ino began to cry. She never knew Sakura almost died on a mission. "If that were to be granted, I would be the happiest person in the world" Sakura said.

"SAKURA!" Someone called out for her. Sakura barely was able to keep her eyes opened. It was the ANBU. One of them had taken off their mask.

"K-Kaka…sensei" Sakura whispered. "So you will be the last one I will see before I go"

"You're not going to die" Kakashi said shakily as he touched her blood-stained hair as another person came up to the two.

"Sakura-chan" the person cried.

"S-Shizune" Sakura said as she touched her face.

"You'll be okay, Sakura-chan. I promise. Just stay strong" Shizune said as she began to heal her.

"We were getting worried when you didn't arrive on the day you were supposed to come back." Kakashi said. "Why didn't you send for help?"

"I'm not worth the saving. Sasuke-kun left to get more power because I was holding him back. Naruto left to get stronger, because he needed to protect me. You left because I wasn't worth caring about. You broke our promise…" Sakura said as she closed her eyes.

Shizune continued to stare at Kakashi whose visibly eye widened at Sakura's words as he felt the regret in his heart. The girls were pulled back.

"**After that mission, everyone tried to make Sakura happier once she was out of the hospital. She began to get close to Tsunade, Shizune, Sai, Shikamaru and Neji. Kakashi tried to make up what he regretted. Soon Sakura came to everyone all happy, but the whole **

**happiness thing was fake. Tsunade, Shizune, Sai, Shikamaru and Neji were the only ones who could tell the difference." **Inner Sakura said.

"I'm a really bad best friend…" Ino laughed nervously.

"**You're not. You've just been making mistakes." **Inner Sakura said. **"And you've been making it up"**

"Thank you…"

"**I'm glad we didn't get into any nightmares. That would be bad. Okay, two doors left. Which one should we go to?"**

"Hm…" Ino looked at the two doors. "Let's go to the right" She said as she opened the door.

Ino opened her eyes to see herself and Inner Sakura in a cage.

"Where are we?" Ino asked.

"**Oh no…."** Inner Sakura said. **"We…we're in a nightmare…"**

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**DUN DUN DUN! They ended up in the last place they'd ever want to be in, and you will see why in the next chapter. Please review everyone. They make me very happy. I also want to thank Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain for helping me better my story. :D  
**

**-Kumiko**


	7. Chapter 7

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai….**

"_**After that mission, everyone tried to make Sakura happier once she was out of the hospital. She began to get close to Tsunade, Shizune, Sai, Shikamaru and Neji. Kakashi tried to make up what he regretted. Soon Sakura came to everyone all happy, but the whole happiness thing was fake. Tsunade, Shizune, Sai, Shikamaru and Neji were the only ones who could tell the difference." **__Inner Sakura said._

"_I'm a really bad best friend…" Ino laughed nervously._

"_**You're not. You've just been making mistakes." **__Inner Sakura said. __**"And you've been making it up"**_

"_Thank you…"_

"_**I'm glad we didn't get into any nightmares. That would be bad. Okay, two doors left. Which one should we go to?"**_

"_Let's go to the right" Ino said as she opened the door._

_Ino opened her eyes to see herself and Inner Sakura in a cage._

"_Where are we?" Ino asked._

"_**Oh no…."**__ Inner Sakura said. __**"We…we're in a nightmare…"**_

**XxXxXx**

Ino heard footsteps as they saw someone dressed up in a black cloak. The person seemed to be heading towards someone tied to a cross. Her eyes widened when she saw who the person was.

"S-Sakura!" Ino said shocked.

"You murderer!" Sakura cried out as she tried to break the chains.

"_I see Sasuke-kun died"_ The cloaked person said as Ino and Inner Sakura saw Sasuke's body hanging next to Sakura. Ino raised her hands to her mouth in shocked as Inner Sakura fell to the ground. Sakura had shut her eyes as she turned away. _"It's a shame, because of you being weak and a burden, Sasuke-kun had to risk his life to save you"_

"Shut up!" Sakura screamed. "I-It's not my fault!" Ino and Inner Sakura watched as the person pulled down her hood to reveal another Sakura!

"**This is her nightmare…" **Inner Sakura said. **"The reason there are two Sakura is probably because Sakura feels like she's a burden to others. So the other Sakura is like her bad self telling her all those things" **

Ino stared at Inner Sakura before looking at the two Sakuras. "S-Sakura…"

"_Did you guys have a nice conversation before he died?"_ She asked.

"I hate you! How dare you… killing everyone!" Sakura cried

"_Now now, I didn't kill everyone, Sakura-chan"_ Evil Sakura said as she went to a table with someone under a white sheet. She took it off to reveal Naruto. _"I was kind enough to keep Naruto alive…for now"_

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "What do you plan on doing…?"

"_I plan on killing you, but first I will kill Naruto-kun"_

"You already killed everyone else! What more do you want!" Sakura asked.

"_I want to break you apart"_ Evil Sakura said as she stabbed Naruto in the stomach with a knife.

Naruto had coughed out blood as he stared at Sakura who was frozen.

"Naruto!" Ino cried out.

"S-Sakura-chan…" Naruto cried. "It will be okay" Evil Sakura soon stabbed him in the heart as he died staring at Sakura with his dead eyes.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed. Ino felt like throwing up as Inner Sakura tried to keep herself in check.

"_Enjoying the scene girls?"_ Evil Sakura asked as he looked at the cage Ino and Inner Sakura were in.

"Y-You can see us?" Ino asked.

"Of course and so can Sakura-chan" Sakura had looked to her left to see Ino and Inner Sakura staring at her.

"Y-You're still alive Ino…" Sakura said. "I'm glad…" Her eyes widened when her evil self stabbed her with the same knife she used on Naruto.

"STOP!" Ino cried. "Please let her go!"

Inner Sakura froze when she saw all the blood on the floor. Sakura's screams were getting louder as Ino covered her ears. She began to shake her head.

"**Stop! Stop it!"** Inner Sakura shouted as she gripped tightly on the cage's bars.

"_Stop? Let's make a deal. Ino, you say 'Sorry' three hundred times, and I'll let her live" _the bad Sakura said.

Ino immediately started her sorry as the evil Sakura continued to stab her best friend right in front of her. Inner Sakura continued to watch in horror as her outer self was getting stabbed to death. Her cries started to get louder as Inner Sakura began to cry.

"_Do you think that by crying and being weak, Naruto-kun or Sasuke-kun would come back to save you?"_ Her evil self asked Sakura.

Sakura just stared at the dead body of Sasuke and Naruto as the girl in front of her slapped her in the face.

"_Because you were weak and a burden, Sasuke-kun died to protect you from harm. Naruto-kun died because you were useless to protect him. It's your fault! It's your fault that they died!"_ Evil Sakura said as she slapped her again on the other side of her face. _"Everyone died because you couldn't help yourself. Now, you have to pay the price"_

Inner Sakura tried to break the bars. **"Don't listen to her Sakura!"**

"_You can't break it, you pathetic inner of mine"_ the evil Sakura said. Ino had finally finished saying sorry as the evil Sakura broke into a hysterical laughter. _"Did you really think I'd let Sakura go that easily? Say good bye Sakura. Tell everyone in the afterlife I said hello." _Sakura looked at her with frightened eyes. _"Oh wait, you won't be going where they will be. Silly me" _With that Evil Sakura stabbed Sakura in the heart as she looked at Ino and Inner Sakura.

"I-I'm sorry…" Sakura said as she tried to smile at them.

Ino broke down crying as Inner Sakura hugged her. They were soon pulled back to the hallways as Ino continued sobbing.

"**I-It was just a dream. I-It's not real"** Inner Sakura tried to convince Ino while trying to convince herself as well. Ino continued to cry and cry trying to get the scenes out of her head.

"That didn't happen! That didn't happen! Sakura didn't die" Ino cried. The two stayed like that for a couple minutes as the two finally calmed down.

"C-Come on, there's one more door left" Ino said trying to keep herself strong.

"**R-Right, let's go"** Inner Sakura said. The two walked to the last door as Inner Sakura opened it.

They found themselves facing hovering rocks.

"You've got to be kidding me" Ino said as she sighed deeply. She still couldn't get that scene out of her mind.

"**Come on!"** Inner Sakura and Ino jumped on the closest rock as they got ready to jump to the next one.

After a few more rocks, Inner Sakura and Ino jumped onto another one as Inner Sakura slipped.

"**Damn it"** Inner Sakura said as her eyes widened.

"Sakura!" Ino said as she grabbed on to her wrist. "Hang on" Inner Sakura looked down to see endless darkness.

"**Yikes, Sakura's mind is really messed up"** Inner Sakura said as she finally got up. **"Thanks"**

"No problem" Ino said as they made it to the platform. Soon something under them began to rumble. "W-What's that?"

"**Is it just me or does it seem like we're going to….FAAAAAAAAALL" **The two girls fell into the dark depths below as they clung on to each other.

A couple minutes passed by as the two continued to scream. They looked at each other.

"WE'RE STILL FALLING!" Ino screamed. The two began to scream again as they seemed to stop falling, but were floating to the bottom instead.

They finally reached the ground slowly as they saw treasure chests around them.

"**We found it!" **Inner Sakura cheered as they went to the largest treasure chest. It had Sakura's name on it. Ino and Inner Sakura opened it as light blinded them for a bit. A small orb floated in front of them as it disappeared. **"We did it. Sakura will be okay"**

Ino soon looked around to see a treasure chest with Shikamaru's name, but there was nothing inside.

"**This seems to be holding memories of a person. Sakura remembers Shikamaru right? So that's why it's opened."**

"Then Sakura can remember me!" Ino said as she tried to find her treasure chest.

"**I wouldn't do that if I were you. You should let Sakura remember you by herself. If you force her to remember you, there might be bad side effects."**

"I'll take the risk" Ino said as she found hers and opened it. Just like before, a small orb floated in front of them as Ino saw memories of her and Sakura as it disappeared. She looked next to hers to see Naruto's and Sasuke's.

"_**You can only open one" **_A voice said.

"**Who are you?" **Inner Sakura asked. The voice didn't answer as the treasure boxes disappeared and Ino and Inner Sakura ended up where they started.

"**You should go now"**

"Thanks Inner Sakura" Ino said as she hugged her. Inner Sakura just smiled.

"**Take care of me, got it?" **

Ino nodded as she went back to her body. The last thing she saw was Inner Sakura smiling at her.

**XxXxXx**

Ino gasped for air as she found herself back in the hospital.

"Ino!" Shikamaru said as he hugged her.

"I-I did it" Ino said weak from her jutsu. Soon Tsunade had come into the room to see the couple on the floor.

"What is going on here?" Tsunade questioned.

"N-Nothing, we just came to visit Sakura" Shikamaru said as he helped Ino up. Tsunade eyed the couple suspiciously as she went to Sakura's side and examined her. Her hazel eyes widened.

"S-she's…"

"She's going to be okay" Ino said with a tired smile.

"What did you do Yamanaka?" Tsunade asked.

"She used her family's jutsu to go into Sakura's mind to help her. She succeeded" Shikamaru said.

"Yamanaka, that was a very dangerous move! If you were to ever mess up, you could have been stuck in her mind forever." Tsunade said. "You came back safe and you saved Sakura, she'll be fine but…"

"But?" Ino asked.

"She's still blind, from what I heard from you guys, she was able to see you guys for a few seconds before fainting" Tsunade said with a sad smile. "She's still going to be okay. But let's just hope that there won't be any side effects from your actions"

**XxXxXx**

"They know too much now" A deep voice said.

"It's only because somebody hinted the Hokage's apprentice about you know what" Kisame said as he glanced over to where Deidara was.

"So it was you…" Itachi said darkly.

"Good work Deidara" Konan said sarcastically as she clapped her hands. Deidara rolled his eyes.

"I didn't know the box was that important? I expected Itachi to hide it better, yeah" Deidara said.

"Hn…" was all Itachi said.

"But Itachi-san almost killed Sakura-chan!" Tobi said.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

"SAKURA-CHAN, yeah!" Everyone repeated except for the Leader and Itachi of course.

"She was nice and pretty. Tobi likes her" Tobi said happily as Deidara chopped him in the head.

Pein narrowed his eyes. "Well now that the Hokage's apprentice know about out plan, there's no doubt that she had already told the village about it"

"I doubt it" Itachi said. The leader raised an eyebrow.

"Care to explain" Pein asked as Itachi explained about his Mangekyou and how it affected the girl. He didn't tell about how she in returned ruined his vision even more.

"Impressive, just what I expect from you Itachi" Itachi could see the corner of his lips lifting up. "But just to be safe, we have to get the girl. I'll teach Sakura Haruno to mess with Akatsuki"

"Sakura Haruno…the one who killed Sasori?" Kisame asked. "She has to be very strong to beat him."

"She's the one who killed him?" Deidara shouted shocked that he hadn't noticed it was her.

"No shit" Konan said as she looked at her dark purple nails. Deidara glared at the blue-haired girl next to him.

"Bitch…" Deidara muttered under his breath.

"Tomorrow, you guys will attack Konoha and get the Hokage's apprentice. Itachi and Kisame, you two go ahead as the others will come the next day. While you're at it, try to bring the Kyuubi to me. If not, we can always use the girl as bait" Pein said as he went over the plan in his head. "You are dismissed. Oh and Itachi…"

Itachi stayed back wondering what else the leader had to tell him. "Go and see a medic about the eye damage the girl caused you" Itachi's facial expression had not changed but Pein could see it in his eyes that he was shocked, wondering how he knew.

"Maybe Sakura Haruno can heal your eyes" the leader said as he smirked.

**XxXxXx**

Grayish green eyes looked around to see darkness. She was able to see before she fainted but now she could see nothing again. But she could tell there were other people in the room.

"She's awake" Sai said. The others looked to see their pink-haired friend waking up. "It's been a few days."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he jumped up in the air as he spread his arms out to hug her. He was soon stopped as Ino pulled him by the collar and pushed him back as she went up to Sakura.

"Hey Forehead-girl" Ino said as she grabbed Sakura's hand and rubbed her thumb against her skin. Team seven was confused with Ino's gesture but Shikamaru explained it was a way to tell Sakura that it was either one of the three with her.

Sakura started off to space as she tried to remember the faces she saw before he collapsed. She remembered Shikamaru's and Chouji's face. They looked different from her visions, but she knew it was them. She then remembered the girl with them; a girl with long blond hair and sky blue eyes. Soon all her memories of the girl came back to her. Sakura frowned as she turned her head away from her. "I-I want you to leave"

Ino's eyes widened. "E-Excuse me?" Ino asked shocked at what Sakura said.

"Leave me alone!" Sakura screamed. "S-Shikamaru, can you take h-her out of the room?" Shikamaru stared at Sakura to see her eyes watery as he nodded.

"Okay" He said as he pulled Ino out of the room.

"S-Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Naruto asked as he grabbed Sakura's hand. She immediately pulled her hands away.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked a bit terrified.

"It's me, Naruto" Naruto said as Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Soon Tsunade came into the room.

"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai, I want you three out of the room" Tsunade soon looked at Kakashi and Yamato. "I need to talk to you two"

"I looked at all the test results. Ino did a jutsu to help Sakura but I guess there were a few side effects from it. She remembers Ino now, but it was forced." Two nodded their heads as she continued. "She is still able to remember the people she remembered before the jutsu, but…"

"But the progress she made of remembering others were all lost?" Yamato questioned.

"That is what I believe." Tsunade said as she closed her eyes. "Hopefully, that is the only side effects from Ino's jutsu"

Yamato and Kakashi looked at each other as they looked at their student who was crying her eyes out.

Soon they heard footsteps as Shizune came into the room out of breathe.

"Shizune, what happened to you?" Tsunade asked. It took a while for Shizune to speak.

"A-A-Akatsuki…t-they're coming to attack Konoha." Shizune said as she continued to explain what had happened.

**XxXxXx**

"What was that about?" Naruto asked as the boys went to Ichiraku. "I've never seen Sakura-chan act like that" Sai and Sasuke didn't say anything as they were in deep thought. "I thought we were making progress with Sakura-chan, but they all seem to be gone" Naruto whispered.

"I just don't understand why this happened to her…" Sai muttered. _'It's all three of their faults'_

"Ah…" Sasuke said. Sai glared at Sasuke. He didn't even act like he cared about Sakura. Sasuke noticed Sai glaring at him as he glared back. Naruto nervously laughed as he was stuck in the middle of the two.

"Yo" A voice said. Naruto turned around to see Kakashi and Yamato behind them as they entered the shop.

"What did Tsunade-baachan talk to you about?" Naruto asked. Kakashi just smiled as he ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Don't worry about it" Kakashi said with a fake smile. "But we get to go on a mission"

"No, I want to stay here with Sakura-chan" Naruto frowned.

"You're the one who always complained about not getting a mission, so now you get one" Yamato said as he thought about what Shizune said.

"_A-A-Akatsuki…t-they're coming to attack Konoha."Shizune said._

"_What!" Tsunade said as she rushed all of them out of the room. Talking about Akatsuki in front of Sakura might bring back painful memories._

"_G-Genma came back and reported of seeing four members of Akatsuki coming this way. They might be after N-Naruto-kun or worse…" Shizune said looking at Sakura's room._

"_Those bastards!" Tsunade growled. "Didn't they do enough to her already? Kakashi and Yamato; I want you to gather your team to get ready if they attack the village. Shizune, I want you to get the rest of rookie nine, Gai's team, and any other ninja chunin and above to get ready. Then get the villagers to the safe spot. I then want two ANBU to guard Sakura's room as I place a charka barrier around the room. That way no one can get her, now go!"_

"I guess s-"They soon heard an explosion coming from the forest.

"Kakashi, they've already attacked" Yamato said.

"Who are they?" Sasuke said.

"Guys get ready to battle, make sure you can fight them away from the hospital as much as possible" Kakashi said as he moved. The others followed him.

"Kakashi-sensei, you didn't answer my question" Sasuke said.

"…"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke growled as Kakashi sighed. He couldn't keep it any longer.

"It's A-"

"Hello foolish brother…" At the moment, Sasuke's eyes turned bloody red.

"What are you doing here" Sasuke shouted.

"None of your business. You're not worth to fight right now. Hand over the Kunoichi to us and we will leave your village unharmed" Itachi said. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the thought that Itachi wanted Sakura.

"Hand us the Kyuubi if you can as well" Kisame said as he smirked.

"Today you will die! I will finally get revenge of my clan" Sasuke said as he formed charka into his hand. He soon remembered what he told Sakura when he came back.

"_Hey" Sasuke said as he held Sakura's hand. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little tingle of jealousy._

_They watched as Sakura didn't say anything. She couldn't. Naruto watched as Sasuke cupped Sakura's face as she leaned on to it. Sakura just smiled at him._

"_I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I let him hurt another family of mine. I broke our promise. I'll do whatever it takes to bring you back to normal, even…"Sasuke clenched his fists. "Even if that means I have to stop my hunt for my brother just to see you get better. The dobe and I made a promise, and we want to keep it."_

Well, he said he would stop hunting for Itachi. His older brother came to him. So it would be okay right? An image of Sakura crying telling him to forget his revenge came to him. Then an image of Itachi telling him he still lacked hatred made him forget.

"You're still weak, little brother. Even after leaving your team and village to go to Orochimaru, you still haven't gotten stronger" Itachi said. Sasuke was getting madder by the second. He killed his family. He hurt Sakura. He caused her to forget him, caused her to be in this condition. He will pay. He will get revenge for his clan and Sakura.

"Shut up!" Sasuke said as he charged at his brother. The sounds of birds chirping grew louder. Naruto was fighting against Tobi. Kisame was going against Kakashi and Yamato and Sai was fighting Deidara.

"So you're an artist too, yeah?" Deidara said as he saw Sai scribble on his scroll as his art came to life.

"You will regret hurting Sakura" Sai said. Deidara seemed to notice his opponent was very close to Sakura. "Too bad you're a girl; I have to go easy on you"

Deidara's mouth dropped at Sai's comment as Kisame chuckled. "This is priceless"

"Shut up, yeah!" Deidara said as he was red in the face. "I'm not a girl, yeah"

Sai's eyes widened. "I see, so you're a transvestite?" he soon gave Deidara a fake smile. "It's nice to meet one"

Deidara glared daggers at him as he pulled out his clay bombs. "I'm not a transvestite either. I'm a hundred percent male, yeah!"

"Keep telling yourself that" Sai said as he drew a bird and dodged Deidara's attacks. Deidara smirked as he had jumped on his clay bird.

"Why should I when I already had my way with your pink haired friend, yeah?" Deidara asked loudly. Maybe this would tick his opponent off. Of course he never did that with the girl. She'd probably kill him before he could. He soon noticed the deadly glares he was receiving from the Konoha ninja. Sai had tightened his grip on his sword.

"That idiot…" Kisame muttered when he noticed how pissed off Kakashi and Yamato had gotten. Kakashi's left eye seemed to be glowing bloody red at the moment.

Tobi looked at Deidara confused. "What do you mean had your way with her, Deidara-sempai?" Deidara made a face. Why couldn't Tobi just shut up? He noticed how angry The Kyuubi and the younger Uchiha were.

"You shall die" Sai said as he appeared in front of Deidara and stabbed him in the stomach with his dagger.

Kakashi and Sasuke had used Chidori and thrust their palm into their opponents' chest. Kisame and Itachi were sent flying as everyone thought that was way too easy…and they were right. Itachi and Kisame had changed into another person as the corpse fell to the floor.

"They were a fake?" Sasuke shouted, mad he didn't realize it.

"You're not so smart, yeah" Deidara said as he had also turned into a clay that exploded. Sai had fallen due to the explosion as he fell. Tobi had looked around scared.

"Deidara-sempai, don't leave me!" Tobi said as he ran away. Yamato caught Sai before he fell as they watched the weird Akatsuki member run away.

"Do you think he really…" Naruto didn't finish his sentence as he heard an explosion from the hospital. He then heard yelling and saw three people falling stories down. In their hands was a pink-haired girl.

**XxXxXx**

"Akatsuki is attacking Konoha?!" Shikamaru said shocked. Tsunade nodded. She called Shikamaru as her strategist. "How troublesome…"

The two were discussing the situation Konoha was in a couple of feet away from Sakura's room.

"They're after the Kyuubi…" Tsunade whispered.

"Kyuubi?" Shikamaru asked. Tsunade mentally slapped herself in the head. Of course they didn't know about Naruto and the Kyuubi. It was only the sensei and team seven that knew. "You mean the demon that attacked 16 years ago? My father told me all about it. But he said that the fourth Hokage defeated it while sacrificing his life"

"The forth Hokage defeated the Kyuubi by sacrificing his life to seal it into a baby. That baby was his newborn son…Naruto Uzumaki" Shikamaru's eyes widened as everything began to come clear to him.

"No wonder Naruto-"Shikamaru didn't finish as they heard a bomb coming from the forest in front of the gates.

"They've already begun" Tsunade said as she narrowed her eyes. "We only came up with two reasons why they would attack. Either to get the Kyuubi sealed inside of Naruto or to get Sakura"

Shikamaru growled. "They almost killed her! What more do they want?"

"I know…" Tsunade said as she closed her eyes. This headache was too much. First Akatsuki not only kidnaps the Daimyo's son Yuuki, but brought Sakura to the brink of death, next Orochimaru and Sound is destroyed, then Sasuke comes back to the village as Sakura is in this condition, finally Akatsuki attacks the village!

"We have to find out what their reason is and-"Shikamaru's eyes widened when he heard screaming which sounded like it came from the east wing. Tsunade and Shikamaru looked at each other with worried eyes as they ran to where Sakura's room was.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura sighed as she felt the charka surrounding the room and the presence of the two ANBU in her room. Tsunade had told her about her being a Kunoichi and that she knew how to heal people and other stuff. She couldn't believe that with one finger, she could destroy a whole village. Tsunade said she'd teach her when she would get better. She noticed charka moving in the room as she heard someone say 'kai'.

"Damn, your village sucks if they weren't able to recognize us" A voice said. Sakura didn't like the feeling she was getting. It was telling her to get the hell out of there. But she could not walk nor run. Heck, she could barely see. All she knew was that she was in the hospital stuck with two ANBU in a room protected by charka. "I bet your brother and his friends still think they're fighting the real ones"

"The room has a barrier around it" a voice said. For some reason it felt familiar to her. "Use your Samehada to suck the charka, Kisame"

"Got it Itachi" Kisame said as he pulled out his Samehada. Sakura soon heard footsteps coming close to her. "Wow, you really fucked her up."

"Hn. Just get her and then we can get Naruto-kun" Itachi said.

Naruto? Wasn't that the boy she was talking to earlier? The name felt so familiar to her, she was tired of not remembering people.

She felt cold hands carry her bridal style as the person walked to the window. She began to scream really loud.

"Tch, a loud one" Kisame said as he tightened his grip on Sakura. Before Kisame and Itachi could jump out the window they heard people come into the room.

"Unhand my apprentice!" Tsunade shouted. Sakura remembered that strong voice. It was the medic from earlier. Tsunade was surprised to see the ANBU she ordered to protect Sakura were about to leave with her. One of them took of their mask.

"Itachi Uchiha!" Tsunade said not looking into his eyes.

"Let her go" Shikamaru shouted as he began to do his hand seals.

"S-Shikamaru…" Sakura called out again remembering his voice. The two soon noticed a little clay bird that was ticking.

"Too late" Kisame said with a grin as he and Itachi jumped out of the window with Sakura. The room had exploded sending Shikamaru and Tsunade flying. They quickly got up and ran to what was left of the window.

"Sakura!" The two cried out as they ran to the window and looked down as the Akatsuki members were falling head first with Sakura in their arms. People below were screaming.

"Itachi Uchiha…" Sakura whispered as she faintly remembered holding a box as she looked up to see a man with long raven hair and crimson eyes. She remembered being very terrified.

Itachi looked down at the girl in Kisame's arms as Deidara and Tobi had come and caught them with his clay bird.

"Did you get the girl?" Deidara asked ready to get his revenge for Sasori.

"I want to see Sakura-chan" Tobi said happily.

"T-Tobi?" Sakura whispered as she tried to reach for him.

_Sakura cursed herself that she had gotten herself into this predicament. She heard the sound of her cellar opening._

"_Hello! Tobi brought you food" Tobi said as he entered the cellar. He took this chance to look at the girl, she was pretty. She had pink hair too._

"_Thanks…" Sakura said as she looked at the food Tobi was holding. She was wondering why he was speaking in third person._

"_Why aren't you eating?" Tobi asked._

"_Why bring an enemy food? Besides you guys probably poisoned it" Sakura said._

"_Tobi was told to not come and visit you. But Tobi knows that you haven't eating anything in days. Tobi doesn't want you to die. Tobi wants to be friends with you" Tobi answered as he smiled though she couldn't tell due to his mask. "Can Tobi be friends with you?"_

_Sakura stared at the guy like he was insane. Was he really in Akatsuki?_

"_Sure" Sakura said weakly._

"_What's your name?" Tobi asked as he looked at her hair. "Is it your real hair color?"_

_Sakura sighed. "My name is Sakura and yes it's my real hair color!"_

"_It suits you…Sakura-chan" Tobi said happily._

"So Sakura-chan, remembers Tobi?" Tobi asked excitedly. Sakura nodded happily.

"Tobi…is my friend?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Of course…" Tobi said before he was punched by Deidara.

"Of course not! We're your enemy, bitch. I can now get my revenge on you for killing Sasori-danna, yeah!" Deidara said as he slapped her in the face.

"Sakura-chan!" Tobi said. Sakura stared at where she thought Deidara was as she gave him a confused look. Who was Sasori?

"She doesn't remember, stupid" Kisame said. "Itachi messed her up"

Itachi looked at the girl as he remembered what happened when he was drunk, thanks to Kisame. He had told her personal information. He could just kill the girl right now and the secret could be safe, but he needed her to heal the damage she did to his eyes.

"Let's go get the Kyuubi now" Deidara said as they flew around Konoha trying to find Naruto.

"No!" Sakura shouted as she pushed Deidara off the bird as he grabbed her, bringing her along with him. Tobi, Kisame, and Itachi looked down to see the two falling. Deidara's eyes widened as they fell. Sakura hung on to him tightly as she screamed.

"Omg, they're falling!" Tobi screamed as Kisame sighed. He soon 'stretched' his right leg as Tobi had also fallen off the clay bird. The two had fallen as Deidara broke her fall. She looked at the unconscious boy under her. Well she couldn't see, but you know what I mean. She quickly got up as she ran to wherever she could; wherever she thought was safe. She didn't even realize she was able to move her legs.

Tobi had fallen on top of Deidara as he looked in front of him. There were gates surrounding a forest as he walked up and read the sign.

"The forest of death..." He said. "Sounds scary! I wonder if Sakura-chan went here"

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**Sakura went to the Forest of death uh oh. I couldn't make Tobi mean. He's too cute to be mean, right? Don't worry, Sakura was never raped when she was kidnapped by Akatsuki. What will happen to Sakura as she is inside running around blind? Will the others find her? And what about Naruto, will Akatsuki finally get the Kyuubi? Please review everyone.**

**-Kumiko**


	8. Chapter 8

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Omg, they're falling!" Tobi screamed as Kisame sighed. He soon 'stretched' his right leg as Tobi had also fallen off the clay bird. The two had fallen as Deidara broke her fall. She looked at the unconscious boy under her. Well she couldn't see, but you know what I mean. She quickly got up as she ran to wherever she could; wherever she thought was safe. She didn't even realize she was able to move her legs. _

_Tobi had fallen on top of Deidara as he looked in front of him. There were gates surrounding a forest as he walked up and read the sign._

"_The forest of death..." He said. "Sounds scary! I wonder if Sakura-chan went here"_

**XxXxXx**

Sakura felt herself fall onto the cold ground as she had tripped over a rock. She was scared, no scratch that, she was terrified. She had no idea where she was going. She was alone. Where was Shikamaru or Chouji? Where was Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Kurenai-sensei, or Akamaru? She shook her head.

"_You never change. You're still weak and a burden to everyone. Even your teammates and enemy"_

Her eyes widened as her hand slowly went to where her heart was. Who had said that to her? She couldn't remember. But who ever said that to her, she will prove to that person she was not weak. Sakura slowly got up as she closed her eyes. That medic said she had perfect charka control and could destroy a whole village with one finger. Would that help her? Soon something came to mind.

"_Okay, I'm going to teach you something" A voice said. Sakura looked to see she had blonde hair and big boobs._

"_Teach me what?" Her other self asked. _

"_I'm going to teach you how to summon your animal. You know that Naruto can summon frogs thanks to Jiraiya and Sasuke can summon snakes. I can summon slugs, so I'll teach that to you"_

"_Really Shishou? That would really mean a lot to me!" Sakura said happily. The person patted her shoulder._

"_Okay, the first thing you do is to think of slug. Once you have the slug in mind, draw blood from your thumb and make the Boar, Monkey, Dog, Horse, and then the Ram. Then place your thumb on the ground. It's really hard to use this jutsu, but you have perfect charka control, so I know you can do it."_

_Sakura followed the older woman's instructions as smoke appeared in front of them. The two watched as a large Slug was summoned._

"_You did it Sakura! She is the daughter of the Slug's leader. She will now belong to you and help you in your time of need"_

"S-Summon…" Sakura repeated as she unintentionally bit her thumb as she drew blood and did the hand seals by heart. She soon placed her thumb on the ground as black markings appeared followed by smoke.

**XxXxXx**

Everyone was in chaos as people were trying to fight off the Akatsuki. Tsunade and the others were trying to find Sakura.

"Where could she have gone?" Kiba asked as he and Akamaru tried to sniff her out.

"I hope A-Akatsuki didn't get her…" Hinata said as she prayed.

"Don't worry! This is Sakura-san we are talking about!" Lee said.

"Lee's right. Sakura is smart" Sasuke said. Everyone stared at him. Did he just compliment her? "She's not stupid like Naruto. She'll know what to do"

"Hey!" Naruto said as Shikamaru and Sai tried to hold him back.

"But…" You could hear how scared Ino was by her voice. "S-Sakura doesn't remember how to use her charka and stuff. She's literally running around blind. What if Akatsuki catches her? W-What if they do something worse than what Itachi did?"

"Ino…" Shikamaru whispered. He soon felt Naruto trembling in his grip.

"N-No. I will not let that happen ever again" Naruto growled as he finally got out of their grips. "We will find her before they do"

Sasuke noticed Naruto's eyes turning red. Shikamaru noticed it as well. _'The Kyuubi'_ they thought.

"We have to hurry and-"Tenten was cut off as she was hit with a senbon on her upper right arm.

"Tenten!" Neji said as he went to her side. Neji activated his Byakugan to see Kisame and Itachi standing before them.

"Where is the Kunoichi?" Itachi asked.

"She's not with you?" Sasuke growled as his Sharingan activated.

"She fell off Deidara's clay bird along with Deidara and Tobi" Kisame said as he pulled out his Samehada. "We figured she probably went to you guys"

"She can't walk" Ino said. She remembered what she saw in Sakura's mind as she went closer to Itachi.

"Ino, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked. Ino ignored him as she went closer.

"I know your real reasons for killing the Uchiha clan" Ino whispered to Itachi. He soon looked at her as he grabbed her by the throat.

"Ino!" Naruto shouted. Ino had a terrified look in her eyes but she still tried to talk to Itachi.

"Did the Kunoichi tell you?" Itachi asked. Ino shook her head as she tried to get out of his grip.

"I went into her mind. I saw everything" Ino said. "Tell Sasuke the truth"

"The truth?" Sasuke asked as he narrowed his eyes.

Itachi smirked as he threw Ino to his left. Shino went to catch her. "Nothing to worry about foolish little brother. Kisame, let's go find the Kunoichi"

Soon four people appeared in front of them. They looked to see Kakashi, Gai, Tsunade, and Jiraiya in front of them.

"This is bad, Itachi…" Kisame whispered.

"You will not walk any further" Kakashi said. "You guys go and try to find Sakura" The teens nodded as they left, but Sasuke stayed behind.

"Sasuke…" Kakashi looked at him.

"I need to get my revenge on my brother! That is my job" Sasuke said. "I need to fight him"

"Sakura needs you more" was all Kakashi said as Sasuke made a face. Kakashi soon smiled. "Don't worry, I'll keep him alive enough for you to get your revenge" Sasuke hesitated before nodding as he left.

"How troublesome…" Itachi muttered as he and Kisame got in their battle stance.

"Well, it's been a while since we've had a good battle" Kisame grinned.

"You should be worried about yourselves" Tsunade said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Oh? I should be more worried about those who just left, The leader and his partner are actually coming to battle" As Kisame said that, two figures in a blur of black, blue, and orange passed by them in lighting speed. Their eyes widened surprised anyone could move that fast. Kakashi quickly turned to the Hokage and Jiraiya.

"Go after them" Kakashi shouted. Soon Anko, Ibiki, and Shizune soon arrived.

"We can handle them" Anko said. The two Sannin nodded as they went after the leader and his partner.

**XxXxXx**

"You will not go after Sakura or Naruto!" Tsunade shouted as they had finally caught up with the leader and his partner.

"It's been awhile…" The blue-haired person said as she turned around. "…Jiraiya-sensei"

Tsunade had looked at Jiraiya to see him had a sad face. "Yes it has Konan…" the leader had also turned around. "…and Nagato"

"You know them?" Tsunade asked surprised. Jiraiya bit his lower lip. "I was their sensei back in Rain when they were little. While I was doing research, I had a theory they were in Akatsuki, but I couldn't believe it. The girl uses paper jutsu and the leader has the Rinnegan"

They soon heard the sound of something summoning coming from the Forest of Death. Tsunade could tell a slug had been summoned.

'Sakura…' Tsunade said as she looked at the forest. "Jiraiya, we have to end this quickly" Jiraiya got the message as they got into battle stance.

"I would have never known you two would have been in Akatsuki…" Jiraiya said as his opponent was Pein.

"Never thought I'd be fighting you, Jiraiya-sensei" Pein said as he looked over to Konan who was fighting Tsunade.

"To be fighting a Sannin, I'll be honored to kill you" Konan said. "It is the will of God. You must die." Tsunade smirked.

"Cut the angel act" Tsunade said as she went to punch the ground.

**XxXxXx**

"Sakura-chan?" A loud voice said. "It's Tobi!"

"T-Tobi?" Sakura cried out as she felt him hold her.

"Omg, Sakura-chan, your legs! You're bleeding." Once Tobi said that, Sakura finally realized the pain as she winced. "Sakura-chan, you can't walk. So that's why you summoned this slug? Is Tobi right?"

Sakura just nodded as she felt Tobi put her on his back.

"W-Where are we?" Sakura asked softly as she put her arms around his neck as they continued to walk through the forest.

"Tobi does not know" Tobi said. The slug was following them from behind. "Is it true Deidara-sempai had his way with you? What does that mean anyways?"

Sakura blushed since she knew what that meant. But who was Deidara?

"Found you, you little bitch! How dare you push me off, yeah?" A voice yelled.

"Deidara-sempai!" Tobi said as he put Sakura on the slug.

"I see you found her Tobi, yeah" Deidara said.

Tobi nodded. "We need to help her. Sakura-chan can't walk" Deidara smirked.

"This will just make this easier. I will now avenge Sasori-danna's death, and you will regret messing with Akatsuki, yeah." Before Deidara could hit her, Tobi caught the punch as he pushed Deidara away.

"Ms. Slug, Tobi wants you to take Sakura-chan away from here. Please protect her for Tobi" Tobi said as the slug nodded and moved away with Sakura.

"TOBI!" Deidara yelled. "You're going against Akatsuki, yeah!" Deidara noticed Tobi's eyes narrow as it glowed red but didn't think anything of it.

"N-No I am not. Tobi just wants to help Sakura-chan. She is nice to Tobi!" Tobi defended as Deidara bonked him in the head.

"Idiot, yeah" Deidara said as Tobi lay on the ground unconscious.

**XxXxXx**

"Sakura-hime, are you okay?" The slug asked.

"Y-Yes…" Sakura said.

"I heard from mother that you're blind. So I have to protect you with my life. There's a place here that Tsunade-hime had used as a hide-out. You should be safe there" Sakura felt herself against wood.

"I'll go get the others, please be safe until I come back" The slug said as it left her in the forest. Curse her blindness.

An hour had passed since the slug left her in here. She soon heard footsteps coming near her.

"Sakura?" voice called out. "It's me, Shikamaru"

"S-Shikamaru?" Sakura immediately ran out of the tree as she felt Shikamaru hug her.

"You're safe! Thank god. Come on, we have to get out of this forest" Sakura nodded happily as she felt Shikamaru grab her hand. Once he did, Sakura felt her blood turn cold. He had not done the gesture he had always done. He had not rubbed his thumb against her skin.

Sakura immediately grabbed her hand back. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

"Y-You're not Shikamaru" Sakura said.

"I'm surprised you knew, even though you're blind, yeah?" The voice said.

"Leave me alone!" Sakura screamed. Unknown to her, she had sent charka to her foot as she stomped the ground.

Deidara's eyes widened as the ground under him blew up.

"That's hot, yeah" Deidara said to himself as he let his hands eat some clay.

Sakura tried to get up. She was going to show the person who called her weak, what she was made out of. She did not care if she was blind, she was going to win.

**XxXxXx**

"Did you guys hear that?" Hinata asked as she had heard something explode. Neji quickly looked around as his eyes widened.

"Neji, what did you see?" Tenten asked.

"Sakura" Neji said. "She's fighting that blond haired Akatsuki member"

"She shouldn't be able to fight, or even move" Chouji said.

"We have to hurry" Sasuke said. "Hyuga, where is she?"

Neji didn't say anything for a while as they continued to follow after him.

"Where is she Neji?!" Naruto shouted. Neji soon stopped as he looked ahead.

"In there…" Neji said. Everyone looked to see they were in front of the Forest of Death.

"No…" Sai whispered.

"Let's go…" Naruto said as he ran in there. Everyone else followed.

After a couple minutes, Naruto had tripped over something as he fell into something gooey.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto said as he found himself covered in goo.

Kiba sniffed him. "That's slug goo" He announced.

Everyone made a disgusted look as they finally noticed the person next to Naruto on the floor.

"An Akatsuki member!" Neji said as everyone jumped back and pulled out their weapons. The person on the floor was soon picked up by Naruto.

"Where's Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled. The Kyuubi was starting to show.

"Sakura-chan?" The member repeated. His only visible eye soon widened as he ran around in circles. "Omg, Sakura-chan. Tobi lost Sakura-chan. No, Tobi is a good boy. We must find Sakura-chan!"

Neji made a face. "He was the one I fought on our last mission" Tobi stopped running as he looked at Neji.

"Tobi knows where Sakura-chan is. Tobi helped Sakura-chan before Deidara-sempai came after us. He hurt Tobi. Tobi thinks we should follow the slug trail!" Everyone started at him. He was an Akatsuki member?

"You helped Sakura-san?" Lee asked. Tobi nodded. "Yosh, let's go after Sakura-san!"

They soon heard the sound of things getting blown up.

**XxXxXx**

"For someone in your condition, you're giving a really good fight, yeah" Deidara said as he dodged Sakura's punches. She listened for his footsteps and voice to know where to hit. Was this the strength that medic was talking about?

Sakura continued to hit the ground, or whatever was left of it. There were craters everywhere thanks to Sakura. She had managed to punch her opponent three times. She was slowly beginning to see around her. There was a man in front of her with long blonde hair. He looked like Ino.

Deidara looked down to see a shadow that was getting bigger and bigger. He looked up to see…

"What the hell is that, yeah?!" Deidara tried to dodge, but it squished him.

"Sakura-hime, I'm back" Sakura could tell it was her slug.

"Hello, Ms. Slug" Sakura greeted.

"G-Get off, before I blow you up, yeah" Deidara threatened. The slug looked down at him with evil eyes.

"Shut up, before I disintegrate you with my acid" The slug threatened back. "How dare you attack Sakura-hime? Especially when she's blind! You worthless man! Are you okay, Sakura-hime" Sakura just nodded as she tried to get up.

"Die!" Deidara shouted as he spit out a piece of clay by Sakura's foot.

"Boom" Deidara said as the clay had exploded. Sakura had screamed in pain.

"SAKURA-HIME!" The slug screamed while trying to hold down Deidara.

"Art's a bang" He grinned.

**XxXxXx**

"SAKURA-HIME!" A voice shouted throughout the forest.

"What was that?" Ino asked.

"It said Sakura" Tenten said. "Is she in dan-"She didn't finish as Naruto ran passed by her.

"That charka…" Sasuke said.

Naruto ran through the forest as rage ran through his veins. If Deidara had hurt Sakura, he was in for it now. Naruto jumped through the clearing as he looked down to see a large slug holding Deidara down. He looked on the other side to see Sakura bleeding on her legs. There were craters all over the land. Naruto landed in front of Sakura on all fours as he growled. The marks on his cheeks got larger as did his fangs. The Kyuubi's orange coat began to surround him.

"It's the Kyuubi" Deidara said as the slug on top of him disappeared. "It seemed the summoning jutsu wore off. Finally" Deidara said as he stretched. "Not only did I catch the girl, I got the Kyuubi as we-"Naruto had appeared in front of him as Deidara was sent flying into multiple trees. Deidara's eyes widened as he felt Naruto's claws scratch deeply into his chest. The others had finally reached to see the scene.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata said as she covered her mouth.

"Sakura!" Ino said as she saw Sakura bleeding. Sasuke and Shikamaru had gone with Ino to check on Sakura.

"Sakura, wake up" Ino shouted as she tried to heal her legs, but Shikamaru stopped her.

"Not here Ino. It's too dangerous" Shikamaru said as Sasuke picked up Sakura in his arms. They moved to safer grounds as Ino continued her healing.

"How dare you hurt Sakura-chan" Naruto growled as the first tail appeared.

"That's what she gets for messing with Akat-"Deidara felt Naruto grab him by the throat as he squished him slowly.

"Deidara-sempai!" Tobi shouted as he ran to the two. Naruto used his other arm to hit Tobi in the face as he hit his back against a boulder, shattering it to pieces. His mask cracked.

Naruto soon grabbed Deidara by the legs with his other arm as he stretched him.

"S-Stop!" Deidara shouted. He was unable to move. He looked to see three tails coming out. His eyes widened when Naruto twisted his body as it ripped in half. His bloody body laid on the ground as Naruto let out a roar. Everyone stared in shock as the blood showered around Naruto.

**XxXxXx**

Konan had used her paper jutsu as her lower half turned into paper. The papers soon formed into wings on her back as she flew up in the air. She narrowed her eyes as the wings turned into sharp shards as it was aimed at Tsunade. She quickly tried to dodge all of them as she made it in front of Konan. She was stabbed with four papers. Tsunade's hand glowed blue as her hand went from where Konan's lungs were to below. The two soon fell to the ground hard.

Tsunade took deep breaths as she looked at the damaged body of Konan. She had coughed out blood. She was dying.

"N-Nagato" She said out loud, stopping Jiraiya's and Pein's battle. Pein finally realized what was going on.

"Konan!" Pein said as he went to her. She lifted her cold hand to his face.

"I'm sorry…" Konan whispered to him as she coughed out more blood.

"Don't talk" Pein said.

"So much for helping you create your wonderful utopia" Konan continued to talk. "I wanted to be by your side…"

Tsunade just watched the scene. Jiraiya slowly walked up to his ex-students.

"Konan…" Jiraiya whispered. Her cold eyes met his as Pein began to shake.

"I'm sorry…" Slowly Konan closed her eyes for the final time. Tsunade's eyes widened when Pein had soon disappeared and reappeared in front of Jiraiya.

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shouted as she tried to stop Pein but it was too late. He had pierced Jiraiya in the chest with his blades.

Jiraiya just started at Pein surprised as he fell to his knees. He coughed out blood as Pein drew back his blades.

"Jiraiya! No, Jiraiya!" Tsunade cried as she tried to heal him. "Don't die! Please, don't die. You can't leave me" her tears fell on his face.

"You killed Konan. I killed Jiraiya" Pein said as he lifted the dead body of Konan. "We are now equal" With those words said, Pein disappeared. Tsunade had ignored him as she continued to heal Jiraiya. She began to look back at all her memories with Jiraiya as she continued to cry.

"Jiraiya, you can't leave me. I can't lose you…" Tsunade whispered as she sent massive charka into Jiraiya. She soon fell into his bloody chest as she cried.

**XxXxXx**

Anko had sent her snakes at Itachi as he easily dodged it. Kakashi was about to attack him with Chidori but stopped when another person had appeared.

"Leader…" Kisame and Itachi greeted. They soon noticed the person in his arms.

"Is she…"Kisame didn't finish.

"We're going back" Pein said.

"What about Deidara and Tobi?" Kisame asked. Pein didn't say anything as he left.

"Consider yourselves lucky…" Kisame said as he followed the leader.

"Forest of Death" Itachi said as he soon disappeared.

"Did he say Forest of Death?" Gai asked.

"Kakashi!" Yamato appeared in front of him. "N-Naruto, the Kyuubi is trying to get out"

"Shit" Kakashi said as the sensei ran to where Itachi had told them.

After a couple minutes, they made it to the clearing to see Naruto going berserk.

"Naruto!" Yamato called out as he summoned in wood jutsu to trap Naruto. Kakashi looked to see two dead bodies on the ground.

Green eyes opened to see the same girl again. Ino had looked down and noticed Sakura had awaken.

"Sakura! Are you okay?" Sakura ignore her as she looked around for the first time. She recognized Shikamaru, Chouji, Akamaru, Kurenai, and the Sand Siblings. They all seemed to be looking at something.

"So this is Naruto-kun's demon…" Gaara said. Sakura listened to Gaara's words.

"W-What is that?" Sakura asked.

"You can see?" Sasuke asked. She looked at the boy before nodding.

Why did this scene look familiar to her? She slowly got up as she tried to make a run for it.

"Sakura, don't go over there!" Ino shouted. Sakura soon tripped as she rolled down to the crater Naruto and Yamato were. Her dress was getting dirty.

"S-Stop…" Sakura whispered as she walked closer to Naruto. Why was she even getting close? She didn't know the guy. She slowly passed Yamato and closer to Naruto.

"Sakura, don't go near him. He might hurt you…again" Yamato said. Naruto looked at Sakura as his mouth opened wide. Yamato's eyes widened. Naruto was going to attack Sakura. He released the jutsu as he tackled Sakura, taking the hit for her. Yamato ended up as a clone as Sakura slowly got up.

"P-Please, stop" Sakura said as she bravely tried to reach out for Naruto. Her skin burnt from touching him. Something told her that if she let him go on like this, he wouldn't come back. She didn't know why, but she had to save him.

Naruto growled as he scratched Sakura across the chest as blood spilled, but that didn't stop her. She began to cry.

"P-Please, come back" Sakura cried as she hugged him. Her skin was burning, but she continued to hold on. He grabbed her by the shoulders as his nails pierced her skin. Sakura cried out in pain as she fell to the floor.

"Sakura…" Kakashi whispered as they watched the scene. Sasuke was about to make a run for Sakura but Kakashi stopped him while shaking his head. Sakura slowly got up as she hugged his lower torso. The person in front of her clutched its head as it cried in pain. Slowly he went back to normal. His skin was still red but he seemed to have gotten the Kyuubi under control.

"Y-You won't control me…" Naruto said as he looked around him. There hugging him was someone with pink hair…Sakura.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. Sakura had looked up as he saw she was crying.

"You're okay" She said as she soon fainted. Naruto looked at the wounds on her body as he looked at his hands.

"I hurt her again…" Naruto whispered as he tried to lift up Sakura and moved to where the others were. At that same time, two figures were coming from the forest.

Naruto looked to see Tsunade who was supporting a weak Jiraiya. He looked at Naruto as he grinned. Naruto just nodded as he collapsed to the ground with Sakura.

**XxXxXx**

Blue eyes slowly opened to see Tsunade, Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, and Sasuke in his room.

"W-What happened?" Naruto weakly asked.

"The Kyuubi tried to control you again" Kakashi said.

"But Sakura saved you" Tsunade said. Naruto quickly got up.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" He soon winced from the pain.

"You need to rest right now!" Tsunade said as she forced Naruto back down. "She's still resting along with Jiraiya" She pointed to the other two beds in the room.

"I'm awake" Jiraiya said. "I'm proud of you Naruto. You were able to stop the Kyuubi, without the help of Yamato or the others."

Naruto shook his head as he grabbed a handful of his bed sheet. "I hurt Sakura-chan once again…" He looked at the other bed to see Sakura resting peacefully.

"She's able to see again, but Deidara messed up her legs. She seemed to remember Ino now" Tsunade said. "You're able to leave tomorrow Naruto. Thanks to the Kyuubi, your injuries healed quickly. I want to make sure you're okay. Jiraiya, you'll be moving into a new room later on today. You need to stay in the hospital for the whole week. Sakura will be staying here for the rest of the week, and then she'll be staying with Ino for the rest of the month. Then it will be your turn to take care of her Uchiha" Tsunade said as she scribbled on her clipboard.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he left the room.

"Tch, that Uchiha…" Tsunade made a face. Naruto continued to look down at his hands.

"What happened with Akatsuki?" Naruto asked.

"Tsunade was able to defeat the only female in Akatsuki. You killed Deidara and Tobi" Kakashi said. "The only surviving members are Itachi, Kisame, Zetsu and the leader himself"

Naruto nodded as he slowly closed his eyes. He still felt tired. A person soon called Tsunade from the hallways.

"Tsunade-sama!" A ninja came up to her.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"T-The bodies of the Akatsuki members, t-they're gone!" Tsunade's eyes widened.

**XxXxXxX**

Itachi walked down the halls of the base. It was quieter now that Deidara and Tobi were dead. Kisame was probably getting himself drunk again. He was friends with Deidara so it was understandable that he'd be sad over his death. Deidara was annoying but he was good in battle. The only person he was suspicious of was Tobi. He had always felt like Tobi was hiding something big.

His red eyes soon flickered to the ray of light down the hall.

"This stupid body is stronger than I thought" A deep voice said. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he tried to peek through the crack while hiding his chakra. His eyes widened when he saw Pein kneeling down to a shadowy figure.

'What is this?' Itachi asked himself. He soon noticed Pein was holding a mask…an orange mask. There was only one eye hole in the right…just like Tobi's mask.

"We lost Konan" Pein said. Itachi looked to his right to see the dead body of Konan on the floor.

"She put up a good fight. It's your choice to bury her or just give her to Zetsu to eat." The man said.

Pein's eyes widened before narrowing his eyes. "Isn't there any way to revive her, boss, like how we revived Deidara?"

Boss? Itachi was confused. Pein wasn't the leader of Akatsuki? Deidara was still alive? What about Tobi?

"It's too late for that now Pein. We now have to worry about getting the nine-tails and that girl. She knows way too much. Who knows what will happen when she remembers what happened at the time of her capture."

"Yes sir" Pein said as he handed the person the mask. "Here you go"

Itachi watched as the man put on the mask. As he did, Itachi's eyes widened. The man had a Sharingan in his right eye.

"Tobi is a good boy" Tobi said.

Itachi slowly walked away when the new knowledge he discovered. Everything started to make sense now. He was always suspicious of Tobi. The leader would always agree to what Tobi would say. Also, how would a person like Tobi get into Akatsuki so easily? The only thing still bugging him was why did Tobi have a Sharingan?

**XxXxXx**

Sakura looked around Konoha. Things felt familiar as she looked at the buildings and people she passed by. Chouji pushed her as the two headed to Ino's house. He was chosen to pick up Sakura from the hospital. Shikamaru was getting things ready at Ino's house. Ino…let's say she still hadn't gotten over what had happened in the hospital with Sakura.

"They're here" Shikamaru said as he opened the door. Ino nodded as Chouji had pushed Sakura in. Sakura looked at Ino as Ino looked back.

Shikamaru and Chouji looked at each other as they sighed. Trouble seemed to be coming.

**-**

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**I think the ending of the chapter sucked. I bet you guys thought Jiraiya had died huh? Don't lie lol. Sorry if people haven't read the part in the manga that reveals Tobi as leader of Akatsuki. Just what is Tobi up to? Anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter. Lots of action, right? Well, please review everyone, they make me happy.**

**-Kumiko**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yea! I finally updated! Sorry for the wait. I usually update fast, but kind of got in trouble with my grades. Got my first C! *Gasp***

**Well the wait has finally stopped. Chapter 9 is now ready to be read. Enjoy :D**

**Please review everyone.**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

_Sakura looked around Konoha. Things felt so familiar as she looked at the buildings and people she passed by. Chouji pushed her as the two headed to Ino's house. He was chosen to pick up Sakura from the hospital. Shikamaru was getting things ready at Ino's house. Ino…let's say she still hadn't gotten over what had happened in the hospital with Sakura._

"_They're here" Shikamaru said as he opened the door. Ino nodded as Chouji had pushed Sakura in. Sakura looked at Ino as Ino looked back._

_Shikamaru and Chouji looked at each other as they sighed. Trouble seemed to be coming._

**XxXxXx**

"Sakura, do you want to go outside?" Ino asked as she was dressing up Sakura in a nice jacket. Sakura didn't say anything as she tried to avoid Ino's gaze. Ino frowned before smiling again.

It's been almost two weeks since the Akatsuki event. Ino had at least five days left with Sakura before she had to leave her in Sasuke's hands.

"I don't want to go outside" Sakura said not looking at her. Why wouldn't Ino just leave her alone.

"Why not? It will do you good after staying in that hospital" Ino said.

"No" Sakura said.

"Why are you like this? Are you mad because you remembered me…?" Ino asked. Sakura just rolled on the bed and had her back turned to her. Ino's eyes widened as she felt hurt from Sakura's attitude towards her.

"If you don't want to go outside, I don't mind" Ino said. "I'll take better care of you. I'll be there for you more. We can get through this together. I don't want you to deal with this alone"

Sakura just ignored her as Ino frowned. Shikamaru and Chouji watched from the hallways as they gave each other worried glances.

**XxX**

A couple hours later, Ino had brought Sakura dinner in bed. Sakura was still weak to get up herself.

"Here Sakura, I made you some food" Ino said as she brought in her food from dinner. Sakura wasn't able to move at all due to the injury. Ino fed Sakura as she smiled.

"What do you think? Good right?" Ino asked. Sakura shook her head. "O-Oh, I must have burnt that. Sorry"

"I don't want any more" Sakura said. "I hate your cooking" Sakura was clenching her fist on the blanket. Ino just stared at her best friend.

"I'm sorry" Ino said. Sakura's lower lip began to tremble as tears formed and began to roll down her cheek.

"Sakura…" Ino said as she wiped Sakura's tears away.

"Don't be so friendly. I know you don't like me" Sakura said as she wiped her tears.

"Look Sakura, I love you" Ino said. "You're my best friend. I can never hate you. I never did"

Sakura's eyes widened as Ino brought another spoonful of food to Sakura's mouth. She took a bite as she tried to stop crying. The boys soon came in to help her get ready for bed.

After Shikamaru had helped Sakura brush her teeth and Chouji combed her hair. Ino had tucked her into bed.

"Hey how about tomorrow we go outside, just us girls?" Ino said. She looked to see Sakura had already fallen to sleep. Ino sighed. What was with Sakura's bad attitude all of a sudden?

**XxX**

Sakura woke up to see herself alone in the bed. She had a dream that left her sad and bitter.

"Sakura, you're awake" Shikamaru said as he entered the room.

"Good morning" Sakura said cheerfully.

"Ino is waiting to take you outside" Shikamaru patted her back. Sakura's face fell.

"I don't want to go with her. I want to go with you or Chouji" Sakura pleaded.

"You shouldn't act like that towards Ino. She really cares about you. She'd never hurt you" Shikamaru said.

"She already had…" Sakura said bitterly. Shikamaru sighed.

Ino looked to see Sakura was being pushed down with her wheelchair by Shikamaru.

"She's all ready to go" Shikamaru said. Ino nodded.

As the two walked down towards Lee's house, Ino tried to think of a way to start a conversation with her friend. It was Lee's birthday as the girls picked out nice kunai for him.

"It's cold" Sakura said.

"I'm sorry, I should have told Shikamaru to put you on a thicker jacket" Ino said.

"I didn't want to go outside" Ino's eyes widened as she tried not to get mad at Sakura's attitude.

"I'm sor-"

"I hate you" Sakura said. Ino couldn't control her frustration anymore.

"Fine! I don't care anymore. I'm tired of your attitude. I'm trying to help you, and you're not appreciating it. Go home by yourself then" Ino shouted as she turned away. Sakura made a face as she tried to push herself around. Unknown to them, there was a tiny hill as Sakura fell backwards. Her eyes widened as her body hit the floor.

Ino heard the crash as she turned around. She saw Sakura on the ground as her wheelchair was on her injured legs.

"Sakura!" Ino said as she ran to her.

Sakura lied on her stomach as she didn't say a thing. She started to cry as Ino hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" Ino kept saying.

"D-Don't…" Sakura managed to say. "Don't say you're sorry"

"Sakura…" Ino began to say.

"I'm sorry" Sakura cried out. Ino tried to smile.

"It's okay Forehead girl" Ino said.

"Ino-chan?" Sakura whispered. Ino's eyes widened. It's been so long since Sakura had called her that.

"Yes Sakura?" Ino asked.

"I lied. I don't hate you…" Ino let out a sad laugh.

"I know" Ino said as Sakura looked up at her. Sakura gave her a true smile.

"Come on, let's deliver Lee his present" Ino said helping Sakura up on her chair.

"Okay…" Sakura said as she held the present.

**XxXxXx**

Three days passed as Shikamaru and Chouji watched as Ino was doing the laundry. Sakura was slowly following her as she pushed herself with her wheelchair. The boys noticed Sakura would follow Ino everywhere like a little chick following its mother. Today would be their last day with Sakura before she went to stay with Sasuke. Tsunade had assigned them a mission to go to when they dropped her off.

"They seem to be okay now…" Chouji said. Shikamaru nodded.

"Hey Chouji, I need to talk to you" Shikamaru said as they went to their room. "Have you noticed how light Sakura's been getting?"

"You noticed it too?" Chouji asked. "Do you think it's something to be worried about?"

"I-I don't know…" Shikamaru said as the two went back to the living room to see Ino and Sakura on the floor folding clothes. The boys' gaze focused on the bandages on Sakura's shoulders. Sakura seemed to notice the two looking at her as she smiled at them.

"Hello" Sakura greeted with her bright smile. The two smiled back as Ino gave them a weird look.

"Sakura should go to bed now" Shikamaru said as he helped Sakura up. "It's almost 10"

"Fine" Ino said. "Chouji, you help me with the laundry"

Shikamaru looked at Sakura to see her looking at him. "What is it Sakura?"

"Piggyback ride" She grinned.

"How troublesome" Shikamaru said with a smile as he put Sakura on his back and headed to Ino's room. He placed Sakura on the bed as she watched Shikamaru look around the room. He took a book from the shelves.

"What's that?" Sakura asked. Shikamaru looked from Sakura to the album in his hands.

"This is a photo album" Shikamaru said as he took a seat next to Sakura as she sat up on the bed.

"Photo album…" She repeated. Shikamaru nodded as he opened the book. The first picture he saw was Ino and Sakura when they were little. He looked up at Sakura to see she was studying the picture. It seemed to be spring or summer as the two were wearing dresses. Ino's was a baby blue dress with matching ribbons on her hair. She stood confidently as she made a peace sign with her right hand. On her left was a little Sakura who was wearing a green dress and hat. She stood shyly next to Ino as their hands were laced. Her left hand was holding her hat as she gave a smile to the camera.

"That's me" Sakura said happily. Shikamaru nodded as he flipped the next page. This was a picture of the girls and their moms. He looked to see a small finger tracing the face of the older red-head. Sakura didn't say anything about the woman as she flipped the page. There were more pictures of Ino and Sakura before graduated as Genin.

The next couple pictures were Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Asuma.

"A-Asuma-sensei…" Sakura whispered. Shikamaru only nodded as he looked at his sensei's smiling face. He still missed his sensei deeply.

The next picture was before Sasuke had left. It was a group picture of the whole gang. He saw the confusion on Sakura's face as she looked over at Tenten's and Hinata's group. Why did everyone in the picture look so familiar to her? She noticed the little Akamaru on a guy's shoulder. Her eyes soon drifted to Sasuke and Naruto. She saw herself between the two. The blond boy had smiled brightly as the dark haired boy had an annoyed look on his face but you could tell he was a bit happy. Sakura had linked her arms with theirs as she had a huge smile on her face. It made her want to smile. Judging by the picture, it seemed like she was really close to the two boys than anyone else. But who were they?

"Shikamaru, who are those two…?" Sakura asked pointing to Sasuke and Naruto in the photo.

"Eh?" Shikamaru was caught off guard. "Um, they were your teammates back when you were Genin level. You are now chuunin level along with the others. This guys here…" Shikamaru pointed to a boy with long brown hair and light lavender eyes. "…and myself are jounin which are higher than chuunin"

"I see" Sakura said as she yawned. "I like this picture…"

"Go to sleep now Sakura" Shikamaru said as Sakura nodded. Shikamaru watched her go to sleep as he took out the picture from the album.

**XxXxXx**

The team had taken Sakura back to her apartment to pack more clothes and other stuff before dropping her off at Sasuke's. Tsunade thought it was too early for Sakura to stay at her apartment. It might bring unwanted memories. So it was decided she would stay with Sasuke at his house.

"Let's take a shower before we drop you off" Ino said as Sakura nodded. She lifted Sakura in her arms, that's when she realized how light Sakura really was but made no comment about it. "You guys continue to pack okay" Ino said as she had taken Sakura to her bathroom and into the bathtub.

She turned on the warm water as she took Sakura's shampoo and squeezed some into her palm before applying it to Sakura's hair. It smelled nice.

"You're hair is getting really long" Ino said as she shampooed the tips of Sakura's hair. "It was as long as it was before you cut it during the chuunin exams." Sakura just smiled as she felt Ino's fingers massage her scalp. "Do you want me to cut it before I leave for my mission?"

Sakura shook her head. "Ino-chan? Who's going to take care of me if you, Shikamaru, and Chouji are going on a mission?"

"…Sasuke-kun is going to take care of you" Ino said, hesitant about saying Sasuke's name around her.

"Sasuke-san…" Sakura said. "What does he look like?"

"You just have to wait and see" Ino said as she rinsed Sakura's hair. Sakura laughed.

Ino dried Sakura off as she wrapped the towel around her best friend before heading to her room. The boys were resting in the living room.

"What to make you wear…" Ino said as she looked through Sakura's closet. Most of her clothes were packed. There was only thing that seemed to appeal to Ino.

"_Let's get back at Uchiha for hurting Sakura and leaving the village."_ Ino thought. "Here, wear this"

**XxXxXx**

Sasuke had finished eating his tomato as he heard his doorbell. He looked at the clock to see it was 10 in the morning, which meant it have been Sakura. He walked to the door and opened it as Chouji and Shikamaru entered the house with bags.

"Those are Sakura's clothes" Chouji said showing Sasuke the bags. Shikamaru soon came up to him with papers.

"These are what Sakura likes and don't like to eat, what she likes and doesn't like to do, her bed times, and other routines. She likes to go outside a lot. She might be really quiet and shy around you at first. But she'll warm up to you" Shikamaru said. Sasuke just nodded. Man, they acted like they were Sakura's parents. Sakura was his teammate, he knew her better than anyone else besides Naruto.

"Where is she?" Sasuke asked.

"Ino is outside with Sakura. She wanted to talk to her before we left for our mission. A girl thing I guess" Chouji said.

After a few minutes the girls entered the house. Sasuke sworn that Ino wanted to get back at him for what he had done to Sakura in the past. Chouji had dropped his chips on the floor as Shikamaru made a face. Sasuke just stared. The guys looked at the girl in the wheelchair. She was wearing a familiar red dress with a big white circle in the front. There were slits on the sides that went up to her waist as it showed green shorts that went up to her above her knees. She was wearing her blue ninja boots with her headband tied neatly on her head. With her long hair, she looked just like the 13 year old Sakura they once knew.

He felt something move in his heart as he saw Sakura looking at him, studying him. She soon smiled brightly.

"Hello Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said happily. She looked just like she had four years ago. Sasuke was too shocked to notice Ino's evil grin.

"Well, we have to go. Take care of her Sasuke-kun" Ino said as she and her boys left Sasuke staring at his old teammate.

Yup…Ino Yamanaka still didn't forgive him for what he had done to Sakura in the past.

**Five minutes later…**

Sasuke and Sakura were still standing where they were. Well, Sakura was sitting but you know what I mean. Sasuke's eyes started to twitch as he still couldn't believe what he was looking at. Sakura was confused at his actions so all she did was smiling brightly at him. He was surprised that that old dress could still fit her. He thought she would have outgrown it or something. It had been a few years since she had worn it, so it shouldn't have fit on her.

Sasuke soon squatted down next to Sakura. She looked at him with her big green eyes as she began to blush. The guy in front of her was really cute. She soon felt him grab both sides of her cheeks and moved it up and down. Sakura was really confused with his actions. He soon touched her hair and pulled it gently as he observed her. The hair was real.

"Change" Sasuke finally said. Sakura was scared to talk to him now. He sighed as he looked through the bags Shikamaru and Chouji brought.

"Change into these clothes…" Sasuke said handing her home clothes.

"Um…" Sasuke heard her say. He looked at her and realized what she wanted to say. She still couldn't move her legs and would make it difficult for her to change. That meant only one thing, he had to change her. If he wasn't Sasuke Uchiha, he would have blushed at the thought. But instead he reached for his phone and dialed a few numbers.

"_Hello?"_

"Hokage-sama, I need you to come over?"

"_Uchiha? What for?"_

"I need your help with Sakura" Sasuke said as he looked at Sakura who was staring at him cutely.

"_What have you done to my apprentice?!" _Tsunade's voice shouted on the phone. Sasuke sighed.

"I haven't done anything to her. I just need you to help me dress her" Sasuke said as there was a tint of pink that appeared on his cheeks.

"_Ooh…" _Tsunade said. _"I'll be there soon"_

Sasuke hanged up the phone as Tsunade had appeared in front of him and Sakura. Sakura stared at the woman that just appeared like magic. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the older woman in front of her. She was beautiful! She seemed to be in her late 20's if not 30's.

"Sakura?" Tsunade said looking at Sakura. She had remembered Sakura wearing that in the past.

"Ino's joke" Sasuke growled. Tsunade smirked finally realizing how Sasuke was feeling. Pay back Uchiha.

"Come on Sakura, let's change you. Uchiha, get her room ready" Sasuke nodded as Tsunade had taken Sakura to another room to change her.

"Hello Sakura" Tsunade greeted.

"Hello um…" Sakura said. Tsunade felt a little hurt but didn't show it.

"Call me Tsunade-sama, or Shishou if you want" Tsunade said as she had dressed up Sakura in a black long sleeve and brown plaid skirt. She was wearing black stockings as well. It was now December, and the weather would be cold now, but she had a feeling Sasuke might makes things colder around here.

**XxXxXx**

Sasuke dropped the bags on the floor. Sakura's room was going to be across from his. He opened the bag and was glad it was with its hangers. He put all her clothes in the closet as he started to decorate the room with the stuff in her bags. He put a few of her stuff animals around the room; he put one on the bed. He put Sakura's white clock on her bedside table. He looked at the last things in her bag, picture frames…

Looking at one of the pictures, it was a group picture of the gang before he had left to Orochimaru. There he was next to Sakura. She was between him and Naruto as she had them link arms. She smiled brightly in the photo. He would never admit it out loud, but he missed the old Sakura he had grown up with. Just looking at her like she was before had sent him going through all the memories of her and him in the past.

He had set that photo on top of her drawer. The next picture was a picture of the old team seven. He remembered the day they took the photo as if it was yesterday.

"_All right, it's picture time! Everyone pose!" Kakashi said as an old man with white hair on the sides of his head walked up to the camera as he got it ready. Sasuke was standing next to Kakashi on his right as Naruto was on Kakashi's left. Sakura had her back turned to the camera man._

"_Why do I have to get my picture taken with this jerk?!" Naruto shouted as he pointed his left index finger at Sasuke._

"_That's my line, you loser." Sasuke replied back._

"_Say what?" Naruto said offended as his hand turned into a fist at Sasuke. Kakashi soon tried to break them up as he raised his hands up trying to calm the boys down._

"_Come on, we have to." Kakashi said calmly. Sasuke soon turned his head to the right as Sakura turned around and looked at Sasuke happily. Kakashi watched his only female student._

"_I'm just happy I get to be in a picture with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said happily with a big smile on her face. Naruto soon had an excited look on his face._

"_Yeah, I'm super happy that I'm in a picture with you, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he pointed at himself._

_Sakura made a face at Naruto before closing her eyes. "Sensei, can we leave Naruto out?" Sakura asked._

_Naruto made a surprised face. "Aw, come on…" _

_Sasuke soon gave a short laugh at Sakura's comment and how stupid Naruto was acting. Naruto heard him and went back to glaring._

"_Stop laughing!" Naruto said getting closer to Sasuke._

"_Make me!" Sasuke said getting close to Naruto's face as he glared at him._

"_Enough you two" Kakashi said putting a hand on both their heads and pulling them back. "You're making the photographer mad. I want to keep this, so make with the smiles!" Sakura looked to see the photographer had an annoyed look on his face. Naruto and Sasuke had an annoyed face on. Sakura looked from Sasuke to Naruto as she had an adorable smile on her face. "Now, say 'Cheese'!" Kakashi told the gang._

_Sakura looked at the camera as she brought her hands to close to her face as she smiled big. Kakashi also smiled as he still had his hands on top of Sasuke's and Naruto's head. Naruto still had a mad face as he glared at Sasuke while crossing his arms. Sasuke just looked away annoyed._

Sasuke sighed as he placed the picture on beside table. There was one last picture of the new team seven. His eyes narrowed at what had seemed to have been his replacement. He was pale and weird. He heard the gossips of him and this guy looking alike. Hell no. In the back were Kakashi and Yamato standing happily, but he could tell Kakashi was faking it. Naruto was glaring at Sai as Sakura was in the middle. He looked back at the younger Sakura in the last photo and the Sakura in the picture. If he were anyone else, he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two photos. But he wasn't. He was Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura Haruno in the old picture was way happier than the Sakura in the picture he was holding, and it was his fault.

"She would always fake it…" A voice came from behind him. He looked to see Tsunade behind him looking at the photo in his hands. She took out a photo and showed it to Sasuke. It was a picture of Sakura, the Hokage, and Shizune. Tsunade was behind Sakura pulling her into a hug as Shizune had her arm linked to Sakura's. Sakura was also smiling big. It was a real smile.

"This was the only picture I had of her truly smiling. After you left, she was depressed. Anyone could tell, but she had Naruto, Kakashi, and all of us. Then Naruto left the village to get stronger to bring you back and Kakashi left to go back to ANBU for a while. Everyone was busy with their own teams so Sakura had her parents, Shizune, and me. Then one day, her parents were killed on a mission. She was never the same. She went on a mission that got her almost killed. She never even called for help, when she had the strength too. Shizune told me it was because Sakura felt like she didn't deserve to live anymore. Everyone in her life left, so she had nothing to live for. After that mission, everyone tried to make her happier, it never worked." Tsunade started to cry as Sasuke began to feel uncomfortable. He hated it when people cried around him. When Naruto would cry, he'd leave him to Kakashi's or Sakura's care. When Sakura would cry, he'd leave her to Naruto and Kakashi.

Tsunade soon took a deep breath as she had stopped her crying. "She's waiting …" She said as she headed out the door. "Oh yeah, Uchiha…" Sasuke looked up to see Tsunade's back was facing him.

"Don't hurt her again. You have been given a second chance to make up the mistakes you made. Don't waste it" Tsunade said as she walked out of the house.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He sighed as he walked down his hallway to see Sakura on his couch taking a little nap. He squatted down to her and moved her bangs away from her face.

He was going to make it up to Sakura, no matter what.

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**What do you guys think? Now it's Sasuke's turn. Ino wanted to get a little revenge on Sasuke. How will Sasuke cope with Sakura looking like she did back in his Genin days. Have you guys noticed something important? I've been leaving a few clues on what might happen. If you haven't, then just wait till later chapters. I bet you guys are wondering if this is NaruXSaku, where is he? I had a reason why not really putting him in most chapters. He will show up to help Sasuke though. Please review everyone. It makes me update fast.**

**-Kumiko**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! Happy Thanksgiving. I felt like updating the story so here it is. I'm kind of sad I didn't get that much reviews these past few chapters. But thanks for the people that did and for reading.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

_Tsunade soon took a deep breath as she had stopped her crying. "She's waiting …" She said as she headed out the door. "Oh yeah, Uchiha…" _

_Sasuke looked up to see Tsunade's back was facing him. _

"_Don't hurt her again. You have been given a second chance to make up the mistakes you made. Don't waste it" Tsunade said as she walked out of the house._

_Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He sighed as he walked down his hallway to see Sakura on his couch taking a little nap. He squatted down to her and moved her bangs away from her face. _

_He was going to make it up to Sakura, no matter what._

**XxXxXx**

It had been almost a week since Sakura had moved in with him. Tsunade had come over a few times to check up on Sakura. He knew he would need help so he called in a few people to stay and help him. It hurt his pride to ask for help, but he knew he had to. His doorbell rang in the afternoon as he and Sakura were drawing on the floor. It was more like he was watching her as she drew. Sasuke got up to answer the door as Sakura had continued to color happily.

"Yo" the person said.

"Kakashi-sensei" Sasuke greeted.

"Hello Sasuke-san" Yamato said as Sasuke nodded.

"Good morning Traitor" Sai said as Sasuke just ignored him.

The four looked at Sakura to see her drawing on the floor.

"Sakura…" Sasuke called out. Sakura looked up from her drawing as she noticed they had guest.

"Hello Sakura, I'm Kakashi" Kakashi said as he sat down next to her. Sakura blushed as she nodded. "That over there is Yamato" Yamato waved at her as she smiled. "And that is Sai. Yamato and I are your sensei; Sai and Sasuke are your teammates."

"Hello" Sakura said shyly as she went back to her drawing.

"What are you drawing?" Yamato asked as he tried to get a glimpse of her drawing. Sakura was drawing a picture of someone with their hands laced together as if praying.

Sakura looked up at Yamato before smiling and shrugging.

"Let me show you guys to your rooms" Sasuke said getting Yamato's attention. "You…" He said looking at Sai. "You stay with her. Kakashi or Yamato will show you your room later" Sai just gave him a fake smile as he nodded.

"Hey Ugly" Sai said. Sakura had dropped her colored pencil.

"_Thanks to our little encounter, I learned you're a useless, dickless pantywaist." A man with pale skin and short hair said as Sakura stood next to a boy with spiky blonde hair. Sakura watched as the other Sakura tried to hold the blonde boy back._

"_What was that, you asshole?!" the boy said._

"_He's our teammate now, don't start fights with him!" Sakura said. "And you, you're really being a jerk" She said to their new teammate._

_The guy laughed. "Oh, really?"_

"_If you keep acting like that, everyone is going to hate you" Sakura said as if talking to a little kid._

"_Oh, but I really like ugly bitches like you" He said in a happy tone. Sakura's eyes widened as she tried to attack him. An older guy which seemed to be her sensei was holding her back._

"_What was that, you asshole?!" Sakura shouted._

"_Remember what you just said to Naruto-kun" The guy said. She couldn't see either of their faces._

Sakura blinked as she saw that the guy was calling out to her. She looked to him and just smiled.

"What was that, you asshole?" Sakura asked. Sai stared as he found Sakura's fist met his face. She seemed content as she continued onto her next drawing.

Sai got up as he felt his cheek hurting, just like old times. Sai smiled. He soon looked to see the others came back.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked looking at the dent in the wall. Sasuke looked to see Sakura unharmed and just looking at Sai. She soon went back to her drawing.

"What do you think usually happens when I call her by her nickname?" Sai said as Yamato and Kakashi noticed the bruise on his cheek. They looked at each other then at Sakura who was innocently drawing on the floor.

"Nickname?" Sasuke said.

"Yup. I call Naruto dickless, Sakura ugly, and you traitor" Sasuke glared at Sai.

"Hn"

"It's December" Kakashi said. "We should start decorating the place"

"Where's the dobe? He'd probably want to help" Sasuke said.

"Naruto-kun won't be here for a few weeks. He's on a mission with team 10" Yamato said. "But they'll be back before Christmas"

"Hn" Sasuke said. "Let's go" He soon went to get Sakura's wheelchair as he put her on it. Sakura smiled at him as he started to push her.

**XxXxXx**

"How about this tree?" Sai asked. They decided to find a tree first.

"Hn" Sasuke said. That meant no. The tree was too skinny. Sai was confused. What did "hn" mean?

Sakura looked up at Sasuke as she looked at Sai and shook her head. Sasuke was surprised to see she understood his vocab. Well, Sakura was the only person besides Naruto and Kakashi that really understood him.

"This?" Kakashi asked. The tree was better than what Sai chose, but still wasn't good enough. Sakura and Sasuke both shook their heads.

"This?" Yamato asked looking at a tree better than the other two.

"Hn" Sasuke said as he looked around. Sakura had pushed herself around to see look at some trees. One of them caught her attention as she smiled. Kakashi seemed to notice as he went up to her. She pointed up to her tree and smiled.

"Good job Sakura" Kakashi said as he ruffled her hair. He soon noticed Sakura was looking kind of spaced out.

_She saw herself and a man with grayish hair walking down the street. It was another Christmas without Sasuke as they decided to have it at Sakura's apartment. Naruto, Sai, and Yamato went to get the decorations as they got the tree_.

"_Naruto, better not use that money on ramen or else he is dead" Sakura said. _

"_Come on Sakura. Give Naruto a little more credit." The guy said as was reading an orange book._

"_Why should I?" Sakura said._

"_Remember the time we sent Naruto to get ice cream for us that one summer?"_

"_Spent it on ramen" Sakura said._

"_The time we asked him to get fireworks?"_

"_Spent it on ramen" Sakura said again._

"_The time we asked him to…"He stopped. "Yeah…"realizing that Sakura was right._

_Sakura started to laugh. "I told you Kaka-sensei" _

_Kakashi smiled to himself. He hadn't heard Sakura laugh like that for a while. She soon stopped walking as she picked up some snow and threw it at the man. This had caused a snow fight. It wasn't a big one since there was barely any snow on the ground. Sakura ran away as she tripped, falling to the ground. She looked up and stared at the tree in front of her. Kakashi had walked up to her._

"_Good job Sakura" the man said as he ruffled her hair. Sakura just smiled brightly._

Kakashi finally saw her get out of her trance as she smiled at him.

"Did you guys find a tree?" Yamato asked.

"Sakura found it" Kakashi said. Sakura just smiled.

"Hn" Sasuke said as the guys began to pick up the tree and headed to the cashier. Sakura just followed.

**XxXxXx**

"When was the last time it snowed in Konoha?" Yamato asked Kakashi as everyone was drinking hot cocoa.

'_Last time it snowed…'_ Sasuke repeated in his head.

"_Sasuke-kun! Look, it's snowing!"_

Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't know" Kakashi said. "It had been a while since it truly snowed here in Konoha. Probably all the way back to this team's genin days."

"Ah…" Sasuke said.

"Where are Sai and Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"Sai went to his room" Yamato said. "And I believe Sakura is resting in her room right now"

"We should probably turn in for the night then" Kakashi said as he got up. "We still have to pick out the decorations tomorrow" The boys nodded as they went to their rooms.

Sasuke was lying in bed as he left his door open. He left Sakura's door open as well to hear her. The others' rooms were on the other side of the house.

"S-Sasuke-san?" He heard a tiny voice. It sounded scared. Sasuke sighed as he got up. His feet touched the cold wooden floor as he went across the hallway to Sakura's room. As he got closer, he could see she was crying.

"What's wrong Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"N-Nightmare…" She whispered.

"It's just a dream. Suck it up" Sasuke said.

"I-I've been having the same dream two days in a row now, Sasuke-san" Sakura said. "I-Is it okay, if I stay in your room?"

"Tch, you're annoying" Sasuke said. Sakura's eyes widened at those words.

"_Sasuke-kun! Do you want to walk home together?" Sakura asked a guy with raven hair._

"_Hn" He said._

"_How about we go eat lunch then?" Sakura asked again._

"_You're annoying" He said. Sakura saw the pained look on her other self as she started to cry._

"_I know…" Sakura said as Sasuke walked away._

"I know…" Sakura whispered in the night. This had surprised Sasuke. He started to feel guilty again.

"_Don't hurt her again. You have been given a second chance to make up the mistakes you made. Don't waste it"_

Tsunade's words entered his mind as he sighed. He came back to Konoha for a reason. He wanted to make up for hurting Sakura and Naruto. He wanted to help Sakura get better and be happy. But why? He couldn't say it was because he loved her. He did truly care for her. This was just too confusing for him to deal with at the moment. He lifted up Sakura in his arms as he headed out of her room.

The two entered his room as he placed her gently on the bed. Sasuke got onto his side of the bed as he had his back turned to her.

"S-Sasuke-san…?" Sakura called out. He missed her calling him Sasuke-kun.

"What is it Sakura?" Sasuke asked not turning to look at her.

"Thank you…" She said softly as he felt her trying to go to sleep. Sasuke let a small smile on his face just this once.

**XxXxXx**

Sakura opened her eyes to see she wasn't in her room. Oh yeah that's right. She asked the person she was staying with if she could sleep in his room. She blushed. She can't believe she asked that. She looked to see he was still sleeping. She smiled. He looked cute when he was sleeping.

She felt something move in her heart as an image of a guy with spiky blonde hair came to her mind. Why did she feel sad?

"Interesting" A man said. She looked to see it was the guy that helped her with the tree.

"K-Kakashi-san!?" Sakura greeted while trying to hide her blush.

"What are you doing in here? Naruto would be pissed when he finds out" Kakashi said. He soon realized his mistake when he saw Sakura looking at him confused.

"Naruto?" Sakura questioned. Nice one Kakashi…

"Kakashi-san, I have a feeling you and me are really close" Sakura said, surprising Kakashi.

He looked at her before smiling. "Yes, we are"

"Can you help me get up?" Sakura asked as Kakashi went up and picked her up.

"Do you want to go change?" He asked taking her to her room. He felt Sakura nod her head as he placed her on her bed. Kakashi picked out a pink sleeve shirt with a nice brown dress that slit below the breast area. He soon picked out a cute bonnet that matched her pink dress.

He turned around as Sakura changed. It was easy for her to change into this outfit.

"I'm done" Sakura said as Kakashi went to lift her up.

"N-No" Sakura said. Kakashi gave her a weird look as she smiled shyly. "I-I want to learn how to walk by myself"

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked. Sakura nodded.

Sakura took a deep breath as she tried to get up from the bed. As she took a step she lost her balance as Kakashi caught her.

"You can't walk yet." Kakashi said as he bent down signaling her to go on his back. Sakura sighed as she put her arms around his neck.

"Is anyone else awake?" She asked.

"It's just you and me" Kakashi answered.

"C-Can we go outside?" Sakura asked.

"Of course. Let me go get your wheelchair…"

"Don't" Sakura said as she blushed. "I'll just go on your back"

Kakashi smiled. "Okay"

After leaving a note saying they were out, Kakashi held Sakura's legs as they walked around Konoha. You could see people already decorating the village.

"Hey Kakashi-san?" Sakura said as she looked around the village.

"Yeah?" he said looking up at Sakura.

"Can you tell me about my life?" Sakura asked. She felt Kakashi stop moving. She gulped.

"Why?" he asked.

"B-Because, I-I feel bad not remembering people. I know I'm probably hurting them. I feel so empty not knowing about my life and my important people. I feel so alone…" Sakura said as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. Kakashi felt her trembling, telling him she was going to cry. He remembered this used to be her little gesture when she would always cry back in the days. She'd always go up to him and cry whenever Sasuke hurt her or when she felt scared or weak.

"**You left because I wasn't worth caring about. You broke our promise…"**

Kakashi's eyes darkened as he remembered those were the words Sakura said to him when he found her on her first s-rank mission. Those words always came back to haunt him. The mission she almost died on. He had never felt so much regret. He had promised Sakura that he would be there. He broke that promise. He left her alone…

Kakashi saw a bench as he put Sakura down. She looked at him confused as he just patted her head.

"I'll be right back" he said with a smile as he left. Sakura sighed as she looked around. There wasn't any snow around, but it was still cold. She felt so frustrated. She couldn't remember anything ever since that day. It was kind of hazy, but she remembered about her mission. She was dreaming about it. It really scared her. She remembered how scared Shikamaru looked when she let go of his hand and fell into the ocean.

She heard footsteps to see Kakashi walking up to her with two drinks in his hands.

"Hot chocolate?" He offered. Sakura smiled at him as she took one from his hands.

"Where do you want me to start off?" Kakashi asked.

"From the very beginning…" Sakura said. Kakashi nodded as he began to tell her about the first day they met.

Hours went by as he told her about their mission in Mist, the chuunin exams and how she fought against Ino. How she went against Gaara and about Sasuke and his brother. He didn't tell her that she was in love with Sasuke after knowing she was in love with Naruto, But he didn't tell her that either. He knew the part of Sasuke leaving the village was coming up. He was hesitant on whether or not he should tell her about it.

"Then one night, Sasuke left the village" Kakashi said. He watched as Sakura's eyes widened.

"H-He left the village? Why?" She asked.

"He wanted to get stronger to defeat his brother"

"Why didn't anyone try to stop him?" She asked. Kakashi just stared at her. _'_You tried to stop him and the result was him breaking you apart'

"He left before anyone knew" He lied.

He continued to tell her how Naruto and the others went to retrieve him as she went to Tsunade for training. After a while he talked about how she defeated Sasori from Akatsuki and how she saved Kankuro and Gaara. Then he told her about her parents dying and her first S-rank mission. He finally stopped talking before he got to the part about her mission.

"Wow…" was all Sakura could say. She sure had an interesting life.

"Then, how did I become like this?" Sakura asked. She was still confused about the people Kakashi talked about in her life. Maybe she will be able to meet them. She was really curious about who Naruto was. He seemed very close to her by the way Kakashi was talking about him. Kakashi didn't seem like he wanted to talk about how she ended up the way she did. She soon thought about her nightmare.

"Did I fall off a cliff and fell into the ocean?" Sakura asked. She saw Kakashi tense up. So her dream really did happen.

"Who told you that?" Kakashi asked.

"I-I had a dream about it. That's why I went to Sasuke-san's room." Sakura said.

"Tell me about your dream" Kakashi said. Sakura nodded.

"Well, in the dream, it was raining. I felt myself falling off a cliff but then Shikamaru caught me. He grabbed me by the hand as I took off my glove for some reason. I then fell into the ocean. Shikamaru's face was so terrified and sad. It made me want to cry"

"I see…" Kakashi said. He soon got up and stretched. Many people were on the streets now. "Let's head back?" Sakura smiled as Kakashi lifted her on his back.

As they walked through town, they bumped into someone.

"Kakashi!" A voice said all dramatic as he pointed his finger at Kakashi and Sakura. Sakura stared at him. He had huge eyebrows!

"Good morning Gai…" Kakashi said.

"Is that Sakura?" Gai asked as he went up to her. "We must restore your youth!" He said pulling Sakura away from Kakashi. Kakashi wanted to laugh at Sakura's facial expression. He soon noticed she had that spaced off look again.

"_He's still depressed…" a girl with two buns on her hair said to her._

"_Because Lee-san is still in the hospital?" Sakura asked._

"_Pretty much" a boy with long brown hair answered._

_Sakura nodded as she went up to the sensei. Surprisingly his face was really clear._

"_Hey Gai-sensei" Sakura greeted._

"_Hello Kakashi's student" Gai said._

"_Lee-san will be alright" Sakura said. "I'll make sure of it. You're a pretty good sensei. You made Lee strong"_

"_Thank you" Gai said in a calm voice before smiling at her with his white teeth. She fainted from the bright exposure._

"Hello Gai-sensei" Sakura said.

"She remembers me!" Gai said out loud. "That's one point for me Kakashi! Well I have to go, I still need run my laps" With that he disappeared after returning Sakura to Kakashi.

"He's still weird" Sakura said with a smile.

"Yeah…" Kakashi said in a sad tone. He should be happy that she remembered Gai, but he wanted her to remember him first.

They finally returned to the Uchiha Compound around to see they had more guests in the house.

"Sasuke-kun! After months, we are finally united" Karin squealed while she latched herself onto Sasuke's arm.

"Is that the girl Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked. Juugo just stared at Sakura in a sad way. She looked fine, but he could tell something was wrong with her.

"Hello" Juugo said coming up to her. "I'm Juugo. You must be Sakura-san"

Sakura looked at him before smiling. "Hello" Juugo and Suigetsu blushed. 'Cute' they thought.

Karin just glared at her. 'This is the girl Sasuke left me for? What's so special about her? It's obvious that I'm better. Who the hell has pink hair anyways?'

Sai had come and moved her wheelchair to them as Kakashi set her down.

Karin soon felt guilty for what she was thinking. She looked up at Sasuke. He may have looked normal, but his eyes were like a window to his emotions. Usually they were emotionless, but right now it was anything but. He was feeling regret and sadness.

"I'm Suigetsu" Suigetsu introduced himself as he stuck his hand out to shake hands with her. She shook his hand as he noticed how warm her hand was. Sakura soon laid her eyes on Karin.

"Who's the girl behind you?" Sakura asked Suigetsu. "She's pretty!"

"Pretty girl?" Suigetsu asked. Karin blushed. Well the girl wasn't that bad. "She's so not pretty"

"Bastard!" Karin said as she punched Suigetsu.

She hesitantly walked up to Sakura who stared at her.

"I-I'm Karin" Karin said. Sakura looked at her before smiling.

"I'm Sakura Haruno" She grinned.

"T-This is the Hokage's Apprentice!" The three said in shocked.

"What happened to her?" Suigetsu asked. He saw Sasuke clench his fists.

"Itachi" He growled. The three had a surprised look on their face. Karin was going to ask what happened but she could see he didn't want to talk about it.

"Can we stay with you Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked as she traced her finger around his chest. Kakashi and the others looked at the two shocked. Sakura just stared at the two, as she felt something in her heart move again.

"Is she your girlfriend, Sasuke-san?" Sakura asked. Sasuke could hear the hurt in her voice. She couldn't possibly…no, she couldn't remember her feelings for him.

"Why yes we're-"Sasuke covered Karin's mouth with his hand.

"She was my old teammate over at Sound" Sasuke said.

"When you left the village?" Sakura asked. Sasuke's eyes widened. Did she remember? He soon glared at Kakashi who was reading his perverted book and started to giggle.

"Yeah…" Sasuke muttered. "You guys can stay and help Sakura. I need a girl to help Sakura with the changing and the bathing…" He said.

"Sasuke-kun! Don't tell me you're the one who's been bathing her!" Karin cried.

"Hn…"

"She's just like Sakura when she was a Genin…" Kakashi muttered. 'Was this why Sasuke picked her as a teammate? The Suigetsu guy was like Naruto, and the Juugo guy was supposedly like me in a way' He thought.

"Will you help, or do I have to kick you out of the village?" Sasuke said.

"Hmph! I suppose I'll help" Karin said as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"We need to talk to the Hokage about this" Kakashi said.

"Already been done" Suigetsu said. "We asked the Hokage if we could become Konoha civilian here. She put us in probation for 6 months since we have been from Orochimaru's village."

"Where have you two been anyways?" Sai asked.

"Out" Kakashi and Sakura said with a smile.

"Let's go eat" Yamato said. Everyone agreed as Sasuke pushed Sakura's wheelchair.

"Where are we going to eat?" Karin asked.

"Anywhere Sakura would like to go, Ms. big waist" Sai said with a fake smile.

"EXCUSE ME!" Karin shouted as her face flushed with anger.

"I believe this is a start of a beautiful friendship" Suigetsu said putting his arm around Sai's shoulders. Karin fixed her glasses as she looked over to Sakura.

"Well, where to?" Karin asked in an uncaring way. Kakashi, Yamato, and Sai made a face. They already didn't like her. How could Sasuke put up with her?

"I-um…" Sakura blushed feeling the pressure. She soon felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Take your time…" Sasuke said. Sakura's eyes widened before she nodded.

"Korean BQQ" Sakura said with a smile remembering the day Chouji and Shikamaru brought her there.

Sasuke just looked at her before nodding and went ahead of the others.

Karin began to shake Suigetsu violently. "Why is Sasuke-kun talking to her like that?!" She had seen the whole scene in front of her.

"Maybe because they're good friends" Sai said coming behind the two. Karin looked at him in a bad way. "Your jealousy is really ugly. You act like the traitor belongs to you but he doesn't. If you inflict harm on Sakura, I'll surely make sure all of Konoha is after you" With that said, Sai left with a smile on his face.

The eight entered the restaurant as the waitresses and waiters immediately went up to Sakura.

"Hello Sakura-chan!" The workers greeted. Soon the owner of the shop came up to them. "Another trip here again Sakura-chan? Any guests of Sakura-chan is to eat all they want for free"

"Thank you" Sakura said with a smile.

"Anything for you Sakura-chan. You did save me and my family a year back." The gang was seated in a large table as Yamato helped Sakura down from her wheelchair and made her sit next to Sasuke on the right. Kakashi was sitting on his left, followed by Sai, Yamato, Juugo, Suigetsu, and then Karin. Karin looked at the girl next to her. Why did she get to sit next to Sasuke-kun? She soon looked over to Sai to see him looking at her with that fake smile.

"Ugly" He mouthed. Karin glared daggers at the boy.

"Sasuke, can you bring Sakura to wash her hands" Kakashi asked. Sasuke raised an eyebrow to see his sensei smiling at him.

"Hn…" He said as he put Sakura on the wheelchair and left.

"What is your relationship with Sasuke?" Kakashi asked Karin.

"Isn't it obvious? I love Sasuke-kun" Karin said with confidence.

"That's what they all say…" He muttered.

"Then why the rudeness to Sakura?" Yamato asked. "I don't people messing with my students…" Karin saw the scary look on Yamato's face as she hid behind Suigetsu.

"Like I said before, to be jealous of the kindness and attention Sakura is getting from Sasuke-san isn't really a good impression on you" Sai said.

"Sakura was really hurt on a mission to the point where she can't help herself, and you being jealous of her because Sasuke is helping her is really pathetic" Kakashi said looking at her with cold eyes. "If you really love Sasuke, you would think of his feelings as well and not just your own. Stop being selfish and think about how Sasuke feels about Sakura; if you can't do that, then you don't truly love Sasuke"

Everyone stayed quiet as Karin seemed to think about what they said.

"W-Why do you care so much for her?" Karin managed to ask. She could feel her nose beginning to sting. Nobody back at sound ever cared about her like they cared for Sakura. To be honest, she was jealous.

"Because she stayed with us through everything even when we didn't think we deserved it. She helped Sasuke through all the things he's been through. His old team didn't think he deserved her attention and kindness on someone who wouldn't appreciate it. But we were wrong, he did appreciate it. He just showed it in a different way. She was the person that kept our team together. She did a lot for this village though she didn't want or get anything in return. For you to be jealous of such a person is just bad on your part" Kakashi said.

Suigetsu and Juugo took in what Sakura's friends had said as it made Karin shut her mouth.

After a few minutes, Sasuke and Sakura had come back in to see the food served.

"Sorry for making you wait" Sakura said as she tried to get up own her own. She was about to fall before Karin caught her and helped her sit down.

"B-be careful…" Karin said. Sakura looked at her shocked before smiling.

"Thank you Karin-san" Sakura said.

"Yeah…" Karin muttered as everyone ate their food.

-

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**Wah! I'm running out of ideas! So I just brought Team Hebi into the story. Who doesn't like adding that trio into their stories? I hope this story will turn out good. But I'm really having a writer's block, really making me mad. So this is the best I can do. I hope it was okay. Please review. Happy thanksgiving**

**-Kumiko**


	11. Chapter 11

**Gomenasai**

**Summary: When another Sasuke retrieval mission fails, stuff happens, especially to Sakura. While rescuing a boy on another mission, she makes a deal with an Akatsuki to find something for him, guaranteeing the safety of her and her friends. Breaking the deal, she and her friends escape causing Akatsuki to go after them. Soon, a tragedy happens. A few weeks later, news hits Konoha hard. Will Naruto's reputation of bringing a miracle to people's lives be enough this time?**

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

_After a few minutes, Sasuke and Sakura had come back in to see the food served._

"_Sorry for making you wait" Sakura said as she tried to get up own her own. She was about to fall before Karin caught her and helped her sit down._

"_B-be careful…" Karin said. Sakura looked at her before smiling._

"_Thank you Karin-chan" Sakura said._

"_Yeah…" Karin muttered as everyone ate their food._

**XxXxXx**

The following week, the group had spent it buying decorations. Karin had been awfully quiet for the week.

"Karin-san?" A soft voice called out to her. It was nighttime as the girls were the only two up. The boy went out as it was decided Karin took care of Sakura, must to her dismay. Karin turned to see Sakura on her feet hanging onto the wall.

"Why aren't you on your wheelchair?" Karin asked as she quickly went up to Sakura.

"I wanted to learn how to walk. I'm tired of having people push me around with it. How will I be able to walk again if you guys won't let me?" Sakura asked with a smile. "Hope you're not mad…" Sakura soon said as she put her head down.

"I thought you went to bed…" Karin said as she helped Sakura onto the window bench she was sitting on next to the window.

"I didn't want to sleep knowing you were downstairs by yourself" Sakura said. Karin looked at Sakura before looking outside the window again. There was a light blush on her face. No one had really cared about her back when she was in Sound.

"Does your village ever have snow?" Karin asked.

"I-I'm not sure. If it did, I don't remember…" Sakura said in a sad tone.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Karin raised an eyebrow.

"From what I heard, I went on a mission; something to do with Akatuzuki or something like that. They won't tell me much except that I fell off a cliff and got captured by them. Now I can't remember anything of my past or who I knew before the accident. I can tell it's hurting a lot of people. It's really lonely because everyone seems to know each other so well, but I feel like a stranger to them…" Sakura said. "I can't even help myself…"

"_Sakura was really hurt on a mission to the point where she can't help herself, and you being jealous of that is really pathetic"_ Karin frowned as she turned her attention to Sakura as she patted a seat next to her.

"What are you to Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked once Sakura sat next to her on the wide window bench. Sakura was shocked by the question. It took her a few minutes to answer.

"I-I don't know. I don't remember him. Kakashi-san tells me I'm really close to Sasuke-san. But the way he acts towards me, I think we're nothing more than acquaintances as he's being forced to take care of me. It's really frustrating." Sakura said.

Karin's eyes widened when she saw tears forming on Sakura's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry…" Karin whispered.

"Huh?" Sakura said looking up at Karin.

"Pay attention, will you? I don't like repeating myself. I'm sorry for my behavior towards you" Karin said. "I must probably not love Sasuke-kun"

"You love Sasuke-san?" Sakura said. "How did you guys meet? You guys must have known each other a long time to be in love. You must know everything about him!" Sakura said with a large smile on her face.

Karin's eyes widened. Sakura was wrong. She didn't know Sasuke that long to say she was in love him. She didn't know everything about Sasuke because he wouldn't let her. But she had a feeling Sakura did. Sakura probably was in love with Sasuke before the incident. Sasuke probably had some sort of feelings for her as well.

"I wonder if I could ever fall in love like you did. It must be nice to feel such a thing. I've seen Ino-chan and Shikamaru. They really love each other. I wonder if I had anyone like that in my life before…" Karin looked to see Sakura had fallen asleep as she rested her head against her shoulder.

Karin soon smiled as she put a blanket over the both of them and joined her in slumber.

**XxXxXx**

"Can we decorate the place now please?!" Sakura begged to Sasuke. They had all the stuff but they haven't put them up yet. Christmas was in 18 days!

"Hn…" Sasuke said. Everyone watched as Sasuke left the living room to come back with the boxes. Sakura had taken that as a yes.

"Yea!" Sakura cheered. Suigetsu and Sai decorated the house outside as Kakashi and Sasuke were decorating the house inside. Yamato and the girls were decorating the Christmas tree. After a few hours, they had finished decorating the outside and the inside. The others decided to help out with the Christmas tree. Sakura finished decorating all she could while in the wheelchair as she let the others do the rest. The tree was beautiful. She couldn't wait to see it lit up.

"This is the last ornament" Yamato said as he took out the star from the box. He soon laid his eyes on Sakura.

"Do you want to put the star on top of the tree?" Yamato asked. Sakura's face lit up as he took it was a yes. Juugo handed Sakura the star as Yamato extended his hands so Sakura could reach the top. Sakura fixed the star as she looked down and smiled. Yamato brought her down as Karin turned on the lights. They did a very good job.

**XxXxXx**

Juugo was reading as he felt someone staring at him.

"Juugo-san?" Sakura called him.

"Yea?" He put his scroll down to see Sakura had a nervous expression.

"I-I was wondering if you could come with me to get Christmas presents for everyone" Sakura said.

"You want me to go with you?" Juugo asked. He saw Sakura nod her head.

"Sure" He said as he went to get his coat.

The two went outside as they headed to the market square. The village was beautifully decorated with lights as the two took a moment to observe the sight.

"Sakura-san, why did you ask me to go with you? You barely know me" Juugo asked as he pushed Sakura's wheelchair down the street.

"Because I wanted to get something for Karin-chan and Suigetsu-san and you know them well. Besides, this will be a chance to get to know each other right?" Sakura said as she saw her breath in the air.

Juugo stared at her before smiling. "Yes…"

For the rest of the day, the two went around town buying things. Surprising most of the stores gave everything Sakura wanted for free or 50% off, thought she tried to deny it. Some told her that everything she wanted was on the Hokage's tab, the Hyuga's, and Sasuke's. The two talked and got to know each other a lot. Juugo was surprisingly a good person to talk to.

"I think we got everyone. These are a lot of people. Do you really know all of them?" Juugo asked.

"I did before I lost my memories. I heard about them from Kakashi-san. They're still my friends whether I remember them or not. I talked to Kakashi-san about what I should get them and taa-daa. Oh wait one more thing I need to get!" Sakura said. "But stay here and um, watch the stuff. I'll be right back" Juugo watched as Sakura pushed herself to a store.

After a couple minutes, Sakura came back with a blue bag.

"What did you get?" Juugo asked as the two headed home.

"It's a surprise" She answered as she winked at him.

Juugo helped sneak the presents into Sakura's room as he helped her wrap the presents. He would wrap them as she wrote down who it was for. Unknown to Juugo, she hid the blue bag under her bed.

**XxXxXx**

"When's the dobe coming back?" Sasuke asked Kakashi.

"Tsunade said he should be back before Christmas if not sooner" he answered.

"What is his mission anyways?"

"Sasuke, you should know by now, that other people's missions are classified"

**XxXxXx**

"We've reached our destination" Shikamaru said as Ino, Chouji, Naruto, and Neji were hiding behind a large bush.

"Akatsuki's base…" Naruto growled.

"Calm down Naruto. The mission is just to get information on what they're up to" Neji said as he activated his Byakugan. "There only seems to be two members here"

"Which ones are they?" Chouji asked.

"Itachi and Kisame" Neji said.

"What's the plan Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"We are to sneak into the vents and see what we can find. If we are caught, we run"

"That's your plan?" Naruto shouted as Neji and Chouji covered his mouth.

"Don't blow our cover yet, you idiot" Neji said.

"Let's go" Shikamaru signaled as they snuck into the base.

Five pair of eyes watched from their spot as they tried to listen to Itachi's and Kisame's conversation.

"Man, it just us two, Zetsu, and the leader. That mission backfired big time" Kisame said as he took a sip of his sake.

"Hn…" Itachi said. He still didn't tell Kisame what he knew.

"The leader is sending us out again to try to get the nine-tails now. He must be losing it. Deidara and Tobi died from trying to fight him. Shoot, even Konan die from fighting their Hokage." Kisame looked to see his bottle was empty.

"I will have another battle with my foolish little brother" Itachi said. "By the end of December we will head over there"

The gang had gotten the information as they left.

"Do you think they heard us?" Kisame asked. Itachi nodded.

"What will the leader do when we leave Akatsuki?" Kisame asked. "

"I don't care what happens to him. As long as I make sure I fight my brother…"

**XxXxXx**

Sasuke's eyes snapped opened when he heard yelling from Sakura's room. He immediately got up and ran to her room.

"Sakura!" Sasuke said as he went on her bed. She was dreaming.

"S-Stop, please!" Sakura cried out. "Stop"

"Sakura, wake up" Sasuke said as she shook her.

"I will protect him and Sasuke…" Sakura whispered as tears rolled down her cheek.

"I'll make sure you won't touch them…" Sasuke just listened to her talk. "…Itachi"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Why would she be dreaming about Itachi? Was that her nightmare? What Itachi had done to her?

"Sakura!" Sasuke said as Sakura finally woke up. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at Sasuke.

"G-Get away…" Sakura cried out. Instead of seeing Sasuke, she saw Itachi. Sasuke grabbed Sakura as he pinned her onto the bed. Activating his Sharingan, he looked into Sakura's mind to see what happened between her and his brother.

He couldn't see much except for his brother stabbing Sakura and using Mangekyou on her. It was still enough to piss him off.

"Sakura, it's me…" Sasuke said as Sakura stopped shaking under him. "…Sasuke"

"S-Sasuke-san?" Sakura whispered.

"Yeah…" he soon felt Sakura put her arms around his neck as she pulled him close to her.

"I thought I lost you and…" Sakura stopped talking. Who was the other guy in her dream? She could tell that the guy in her dream was Sasuke, but the other guy?

"Sasuke-san, who's Naruto?" Sakura asked. Sasuke stared her. She doesn't remember who Naruto is?

"He's our teammate" Sasuke said. "He's part of team seven" Sasuke reached for the old team seven picture as he showed her it.

"That's you and Kakashi-san" Sakura said as she smiled. She soon looked at the boy with blond hair. He fit the person in most of her visions.

"Naruto…" She whispered. She soon looked at the girl in the middle smiling bright. She soon looked at herself in the mirror then back to the picture.

"This was when we were thirteen…" Sakura muttered as she traced the picture. "What happened to Sai-san and Yamato-san?"

"This picture was before I…left. Sai took over my place and Yamato became your second sensei after Kakashi was in the hospital." Sasuke said.

"I'm sorry…" Sakura whispered.

"What?" Sasuke felt Sakura get up but she was still hugging him. He felt wetness on his shirt. Sakura was crying…

"I can't remember me, this team, us…" Sakura cried. "I'm hurting everyone for not remembering…" Sasuke's fingers shook before he began to rub her back.

"It's okay. I don't mind waiting for you to remember me…" Sasuke said. He didn't heard Sakura answer. She had fallen asleep. Sasuke tuck her back in as he rubbed her tears.

"Hn…" Sasuke said as he walked out of the room.

**XxXxXx**

It was December 12 as Sasuke and Sakura were alone in the house. Kakashi and Yamato were out as Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu had to stay at their apartment, orders of the elders. After a couple months of becoming civilians, they were able to become ninjas again, with the ranks they had before entering Konoha. Sai was asleep in his room. Naruto had came back a couple days ago and said he was going to come and visit tomorrow morning. Sakura had remembered Anko, Konohamaru, Yamato, and Sai.

It was almost 8 at night as Sasuke was resting on his couch. Sakura was moving around in her wheelchair.

Sakura looked outside the window as her eyes widened.

"Sasuke-san! Look, it's snowing!" Sakura said as she pointed outside. She moved to the window and watched the snowflakes fall to the ground.

"_Sasuke-kun! Look, it's snowing!"_

Sasuke watched Sakura as one of his favorite memories came to mind.

_Sasuke was inside his warm house as he was reading a book. He soon heard the doorbell ringing._

'_God, stop ringing the doorbell. I can hear it. Once is enough' Sasuke thought as he walked to his door. 'Who is it?' Sasuke opened the door._

"_Eh?" Sasuke said as he saw his teammate in front of his door._

"_Sasuke-kun! Look, it's snowing!" Sakura said with a huge smile on her face. Her cheeks and nose was pink from running outside. Sasuke just stared at her._

"…_huh?!" Was this why she ran to his house?_

"_It's snowing! How long has it been since it last snowed in the leaf village?" Sakura asked._

"_I'm not interested in sno-"Sakura had begun to pull Sasuke outside._

"_Hurry! Hurry! The snow is going to stop falling!" Sakura said not listening to him._

"_It's cold if I go like this! Stop pulling me!" Sasuke said._

"_Hurry Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as Sasuke went back into his house to put on his snow clothes._

"_Hn…" Sasuke muttered putting on his coat. "You can see snow from the window…"_

"_Please Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried._

_The two ran outside as Sakura pulled his hand to who knows where._

"_Sakura, how far do you plan on going?"Sasuke asked. _

_Sakura turned around to face him. "More. A higher place!"_

"_Why do I have to get dragged along?" Sasuke asked. Why couldn't she have asked Kakashi-sensei or the dobe?_

"_Because…" Sakura began to say as her grip on Sasuke's hand got tighter. "…Because I wanted to see it with you Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked away. He could feel the heat on his cheeks. "It should be pretty"_

"_Hn…" He said as they turned a corner. After a few minutes, they finally stopped in front of the Hokage Mountain._

"_Wow…" Sakura said as she looked up at the sky. Unknown to them, they were still holding hands._

**(AN: I don't own this memory. I saw it on YouTube. It a doujinshi called omote or snow. I recommend watching it if you haven't yet)**

Sakura felt someone push her wheelchair as she looked up to see it was Sasuke.

"Let's go, the snow is going to stop falling…" Sasuke said as he lifted Sakura on his back.

"B-But you can see the snow from the window" Sakura said.

"Hn…" Sasuke said as he put a warm coat on for himself and Sakura and a scarf as he walked out of the house.

"Sasuke-san, how far do you plan on going?" Sakura asked as she hung on to him tightly. Sasuke was running around the village as he looked around. So many memories…

"A higher place…" Sasuke said as he soon jumped on to a roof, much to Sakura's surprise. She screamed as he began to jump higher and move faster. Sasuke just smirked. The two finally reached Hokage Mountain as she looked at the view. Sakura still continued to hold Sakura on his back.

"Wow…" Sakura said. "It's so pretty. But why did you bring me here?"

"A couple years ago, you brought me here to this exact place. Now I wanted to return the favor…" Sasuke said.

Sakura stared down at Konoha as a memory came to her.

"_It's so pretty…" Sakura said admiring the snow falling. A boy was standing next to her as he stared at her. "Well, that's good. I wanted you to see it too" Sakura smiled at him._

_The boy watched as Sakura stuck out her hand to catch a few snowflakes. "I knew you were going to say 'I'm not interested in snow' but it's so pretty. I really wanted for you to see it"_

_Sakura's eyes widened as the boy had pulled her into a hug._

"…_Sasuke…kun…." Sakura whispered into the cold night. "…Sasuke…ku…n…"_

"_Take a good look at the snow…" The boy said. Sakura began to cry in the embrace._

"_I-I can't…see the snow…" Sakura said._

"_It's because you're crying stupid" _

Sakura felt hot tears roll down her cheek. Those tears fell on the back of Sasuke's neck.

"Thank you…" Sasuke heard Sakura mumble as she moved her face to the crook of his neck. He could feel her hot breath.

"You're welcome…" Sasuke said with a smile. Slowly, he felt a part of his guilt and wrong doing left.

**XxXxXx**

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura felt someone hug her right as Kakashi had opened the door. She looked up to see the boy from her pictures and dreams.

"You're going to hurt her dickless" Sai commented as Naruto glared at him. Sakura had been able to remember Sai now, much to Sasuke's displeasure.

"Naruto-san" Sakura said as she smiled.

"You remembered my name" He grinned. "How have you been? Did you see it snowing last night?" Sakura nodded her head.

"Sasuke-san took me to this high place in the village to see the snow!" Sakura said happily. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as Naruto felt jealousy.

"I thought the Teme hated the snow…" Naruto muttered.

"I'm sorry for not remembering you Naruto-san" Sakura said. "But I've heard about you from Kakashi-san and Sasuke-san. Will you be coming over for Christmas?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world" Naruto said.

"What do you want for Christmas?" Sakura asked. Naruto got up and smiled.

"I just want to spend Christmas with you, Sakura-chan…" Naruto said as a light blush formed on his cheeks. Sakura's eyes widened as a blush formed on her cheeks as well. Kakashi smiled under his mask. "How about you Sakura-chan?"

"M-Me?" Sakura soon smiled. "I just want all of us to celebrate Christmas together!"

He looked at Sakura to see her smiling at him brightly. She looked just like she had a few years ago, when her hair was young. Kakashi looked at his students. They were so clueless that they liked each other. But he was afraid that Sakura might remember her old feelings for Sasuke.

"Why don't we play in the snow?" Kakashi said.

"That's a great idea Kakashi-sensei. I finally get to hang out with Sakura-chan" Naruto said.

"Calm down Naruto" Kakashi said. Sakura just giggled.

"Hey Teme, let's play in the snow" Naruto yelled.

All of team seven had gone outside. Sakura was on Naruto's back as he ran outside with her. He put Sakura down on the ground as he quickly made snowballs.

"Snow ball fight!" Naruto shouted as he threw a snowball at Kakashi. "Sakura-chan is on my team; The Teme too!"

"Hn…" Sasuke said walked over to his side.

Sakura picked up one of the snowballs and threw it at Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes widened as he was sent flying a few feet away. Everyone stared at Sakura as she had a worried look on her face.

"She still has her super strength!" Kakashi said as he slowly got up. "That's not fair!"

"Stop complaining!" Sasuke said throwing a snow ball at Sai. Sai began to create snowballs as Kakashi and Yamato would throw it at Sasuke and Naruto while Sakura created the snowballs.

Sakura fell onto the soft snow and laughed. The snow was so fun. She began to move her arms and legs, making a snow angel. The others joined her.

"I want to make a snowman" Sai said as he begun to make the base for the snowman. Naruto and Yamato helped out Sai.

"Where did Sasuke-san go?" Sakura asked Kakashi as they were sitting down on the snow.

"He went to get hot drinks for us" Kakashi said.

"Today is so fun. I love the snow. It hasn't snow since I was a Genin, right Kaka-sensei!" Sakura said cheerful watching the boys make the snowman. Sakura noticed Kakashi didn't say anything. Looking up she saw tears forming in his eyes as he looked down at her.

"What did you call me?" Kakashi asked.

"Kaka-sensei, that's what I always call you" Sakura said.

"Sakura…" Sakura found herself being hold tight by Kakashi. "I'm so happy. You remembered me…" That's when Sakura realized it.

"Kaka-sensei…" Sakura repeated. Soon a snowball had hit Kakashi square in the face.

"Hey! Don't touch her you pervert!" Naruto said.

"She remembered me" Kakashi announced.

"Really!" Naruto said as he went up to her. "How about me? Do you remember me?"

Sakura had a sad face on. "Sorry, Naruto-san…"

"It's okay Sakura-chan, don't be sorry. Come on. Look at our snowman!" Kakashi helped Sakura up as they walked to the finished snowman.

"Sasuke is back" Naruto said seeing Sasuke carrying a tray of hot chocolate drinks.

Sakura looked down to see something weird about the snowman.

"Good job, but what's this carrot down there for?" Sakura asked.

"Well, you see it's a snowman, not snowwoman, so it represents what Naruto doesn't have. A p-"Naruto quickly covered Sai's mouth, but it was too late. Sakura wasn't called the smartest girl in Konoha for nothing. The carrot had smashed in Sakura's hand as the two felt themselves about to pee in their pants.

"Sai, you pervert!" Sakura said as she punched Sai in the face.

Naruto smiled. Just like good old times. They were getting their Sakura back!

-

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-

**I got the SasukeSakura memory on youtube like I said before. The Sai and the snowman was this drawing I saw on Deviantart by *nekoni. Naruto has finally shown up again. Itachi and Kisame are going to leave Akatsuki. Gasp! Hopefully I can get to the Christmas part, by the end of this month. Please review everyone, haven't been getting that much reviews these past months…but thank you for those that did :]**

**-Kumiko**


	12. Chapter 12

**Another update. How's everyone doing? I'm really excited with this story right now. We've finally reached one of my favorite parts of this story. There will be a lot of action and a dramatic twist in this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. Thank you everyone for reading and review. Makes me proud to write this story for you. Let's all pray i can update the christmas chapter at christmas lol  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Sakura…" Sakura found herself being hold tight by Kakashi. "I'm so happy. You remembered me…" That's when Sakura realized it._

"_Kaka-sensei…" Sakura repeated. Soon a snowball had hit Kakashi square in the face._

"_Hey! Don't touch her you pervert!" Naruto said. _

"_She remembered me" Kakashi announced._

"_Really!" Naruto said as he went up to her. "How about me? Do you remember me?"_

_Sakura had a sad face on. "Sorry, Naruto-san…"_

"_It's okay Sakura-chan, don't be sorry. Come on. Look at our snowman!" Kakashi helped Sakura up as they walked to the finished snowman._

"_Sasuke is back" Naruto said seeing Sasuke carrying a tray of hot chocolate drinks._

_Sakura looked down to see something weird about the snowman._

"_Good job, but what's this carrot down there for?" Sakura asked. _

"_Well you see, it's a snowman, not snowwoman, so it represents what Naruto doesn't have. A p-"Naruto quickly covered Sai's mouth, but it was too late. Sakura wasn't called the smartest girl in Konoha for nothing. The carrot had smashed in Sakura's hand as the two felt themselves about to pee in their pants._

"_Sai, you pervert!" Sakura said as she punched Sai in the face._

_Naruto smiled. Just like good old times. They were getting their Sakura back!_

**XxXxXxX**

It was getting closer to Christmas as Sakura was resting on the couch when the doorbell rang. She had heard someone open the door and greeted the visitor.

"Hokage-sama…" Kakashi greeted.

"Hatake" Tsunade nodded her head. "Is Uzumaki and Uchiha here?"

"They're probably around …" Kakashi said, not knowing Sakura was on the couch. "…If not, they probably went out with Sakura."

"Good, there's something I need to inform you with. Something I don't want the Uchiha to hear." Tsunade said.

Sakura's eyes widened. Something the Hokage didn't want Sasuke-san to know? Sakura waited for the Hokage to continue.

"On the mission Naruto went to, it was to get information on Akatsuki. We found out they're going to try to get Naruto again and Itachi wants to battle his brother"

"What did Naruto say about this?" Kakashi asked, having a serious face on.

"He didn't want Sasuke to find out. Sasuke might ditch his duties to go after his brother and settle things once and for all an-"The sound of something dropping was heard as the adults looked to see Sasuke running the opposite way. A tomato rolled its way to the couch.

"Shit…" Tsunade cursed as she ran after Sasuke. Kakashi was about to go after Sasuke as well, until he noticed the small charka in the room. He didn't realize it until now.

"Sakura…" Kakashi said as he walked up to the worried Sakura.

"Kaka-sensei…" Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine" Kakashi said with a smile as he went after Sasuke. At that time Naruto had come into the room.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he greeted her with a smile. He then noticed her expression. "Sakura-chan what's wrong?" He asked as he went up to her.

"S-Sasuke-san knows about your mission thing" Sakura said. Naruto's eyes widened.

"No! He better not leave" Naruto growled as he ran away leaving Sakura watching.

'Why do I feel like this? This feeling is so familiar'Sakura thought as she tried to go on her wheelchair.

"_Hey, Naruto" Sasuke said as he looked at him from his bed. Sakura could feel the tension as the two glared at each other. What was going on?_

"_W-What?" Naruto asked._

"_Fight me…" Sasuke said. "…right now"_

"_What? You just received healing treatment from Tsunade-baachan! What are you saying?" Naruto said trying to reason with him._

"_I don't care, fight me!" Sasuke shouted as he activated his Sharingan. Sakura's eyes widened._

"_Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered._

"_Were you intending to help me? I don't care about the Fifth Hokage, but that was a useless act…" Sasuke said. Naruto was getting madder by the second._

Soon the vision stopped as Sakura left the house. A person in the shadows watched her as the door closed.

**XxXxXxX**

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Naruto said as he ran from roof to roof to find his best friend. "This is why I didn't want him to find out. If I was Sasuke, where would I go?" Thinking of all the possible places Sasuke could have gone, Naruto ended up at Team seven's training spot.

"SASUKE!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke was indeed at the training spot as his back was faced to Naruto.

"Naruto…" Sasuke said.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Naruto yelled as he stepped forward.

"My brother is planning to come and attack us. I have to stop him and get revenge" Sasuke said. "You, of all people, know what I have to do"

Naruto's eyes widened as he clenched his fists. "What about Sakura-chan; you're just going to leave her?" He shouted. "Christmas is coming up! Her wish is for all of us to be together! You can't leave!"

"I have to defeat my brother" Sasuke answered.

"But Sakura-chan needs us more than ever! She needs me! She needs you…" Naruto said. He couldn't believe that Sasuke was planning to leave once again.

"She has you, Naruto, and the others" Sasuke argued. "Now stop wasting my time, and go back to her"

"I will not let you walk out of our lives once again. Even if that means I have to fight you" Naruto said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I guess we'll have to fight" Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan. Naruto's eyes widened as it showed disappointment. He tilted his head down.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered as he took out a kunai.

**XxXxXxX**

Kakashi and Tsunade ran to the front gates to see Izumo and Kotetsu acting like nothing was wrong.

"Hatake-san, Hokage-sama, what's wrong?" Kotetsu asked.

"Did Sasuke Uchiha pass by here?" Kakashi asked. The two looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"No, we haven't" Izumo answered. Tsunade bit her lower lip but was relieved. Sasuke didn't leave the village yet.

"Thanks" Kakashi said as he and the Hokage continued to search around.

"He hasn't left yet" Tsunade said.

"That's good then. He's still around" Kakashi said. "Let's just hope we find him before Naruto does. They might have a large fight"

"Let's hope-"Tsunade stopped talking when she felt large amount of charka.

"No…" Kakashi whispered. "Not again!" He soon headed to where it was coming from.

"H-Hey Hatake! Wait for me!" Tsunade called out leaving Kotetsu and Izumo confused.

**XxXxXxX**

"_What?" Naruto asked. Sasuke growled as he quickly got off the bed._

"_You said you wanted to fight me, right?" Sasuke asked. "Well, right now, I'm saying I'll fight you. Or…are you too scared?"_

"_S-Sasuke-kun" Sakura said as she tried to stop the two. "What's wrong? Naruto, you say something too! This sort of thing all of a sudden…" No one answered her. They just ignored her._

"_Perfect" Naruto said. "I was just thinking that I wanted to go at it with you."_

"_Come on, stop, you two…okay?" Sakura said trying to calm them down._

"_Follow me." Sasuke said as he walked out of the room with Naruto following him. Once she heard the door closed, she slowly fell to the ground and cried._

Sakura soon shook her head. She saw herself somewhere in the forest, not in a hospital room. Sakura pushed herself as she reached a red bridge. It felt familiar.

"SASUKE!" a voice shouted.

"Sasuke-san?" Sakura whispered as pushed her chair through the newly shoveled ground. Though there was no snow, it was still slippery. Sakura took a deep breath as she slowly pushed herself.

"Ahhh!" Her wheelchair began to slide through the bridge as she almost fell.

"Got you" A voice said. Looking up, Sakura's eyes widened.

"S-Sai" Sakura whispered.

"When I saw Naruto running after Sasuke, I knew you'd probably follow them" Sai said as he helped Sakura back to her chair.

"I-I…" Sakura didn't know what to say. She had this feeling in her heart, telling her that she had to find them quickly.

"S-Sai, can you help me find them. I have to before…before…" Sai watched her carefully. She seemed really worried about something.

"Sure Ugly" Sai said as he pushed her wheelchair to the old Team seven's training place. Soon Sai noticed large charka. Quickly, the two finally reached up to Sasuke and Naruto.

Sai and Sakura were speechless. The two looked like they were going to kill each other. Sakura was frozen stiff. Why did she have a feeling this had happened before?

She watched as Sasuke had cornered Naruto against a tree and punched him multiple times before kicking him.

"N-Naruto-san…" Sakura whispered. Sai just watched, unbelieving all this. Naruto soon grabbed Sasuke by the foot as he spun him around. Sasuke crashed hard into another tree. The snow on that had fallen on him.

"Come to your senses!" Naruto shouted. The two were breathing heavily as they stared each other down. Both their faces were a rosy pink. Naruto tried to punch him as Sasuke jumped up in the air to dodge it. A Naruto clone soon appeared as it formed the Rasegan.

"Just like old times…" Sasuke said as he formed Chidori in the air. Sakura's eyes widened as her hands went to her wheels.

"_Naruto!" Sakura called out as Sasuke had up the hospital roof on fire. The Naruto clones soon disappeared as two Narutos were left standing as they were forming Rasegan._

"_What is that jutsu?" Sasuke asked as he formed Chidori in his hands. "Chidori!"_

"_Stop it…" Sakura said softly._

"Stop it…" Sakura said softly as she pushed herself forward. The ground under her was still slippery. Unknown to her, the two were on top of the frozen ice. A few feet away from them was a lake of thin ice.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he got closer.

"Stop it you two…" Sakura said as her eyes widened with fear. The two didn't seem to acknowledge Sakura's and Sai's presence, or they just didn't care. Her heart was breaking. Sai soon noticed Sakura was heading closer to them.

"Sakura, come back!" Sai shouted. Tsunade and Kakashi had finally arrived at the scene.

"_I'm going to win!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke growled._

"_Don't get so cocky!" Sasuke said._

"_Stop it you two…" Sakura said as her eyes widened with fear._

The boys didn't listen to her as they continued their fight.

"STOP IT!" Sakura's voice echoed as she slowly slid through the lake. Naruto and Sasuke soon realized that Sakura was getting closer between them.

"Damn it…" Naruto said trying to hold back his attack.

"Shit" Sasuke had done the same thing.

"Sakura!" Sai shouted trying to reach Sakura in time. Tsunade's mouth dropped at the scene in front of her. If Naruto and Sasuke weren't able to stop their attacks, Sakura would…

A blur passed by Sai as it grabbed Naruto's and Sasuke's wrist. Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes widened as they were thrown to the nearby trees as a pile of snow fell on top of them. Kakashi's eyes widened as Sakura continued to slid and ended up at the other side of the deep lake.

"Sakura, are you o-"Kakashi soon saw the sign with the bold red words printed on it. Thin Ice. His blood turned cold. "Sakura, get out of there quickly!" Sai soon noticed the sign as he ran to the other side.

"Huh?" Sakura gave Kakashi a weird look as she heard the sound of something cracking. Looking down, she saw little cracks getting bigger and bigger. "K-Kaka-sensei!" Sakura cried out as the ice under her cracked.

"SAKURA!" Tsunade cried out as Sakura had fallen into the icy water with the wheelchair. Kakashi stood in shocked when seeing Sakura fall under. Sai immediately dove under the ice to get her. Would Sai be able to get her? Would she be okay? She can swim right? No, she still couldn't use her legs well. Kakashi dove into the water as well. Tsunade went to the thicker ice as she punched through it. This would give more light underneath for them, right?

Sai tried to get his body and eyes use to the water. Looking around, he searched for anything pink. He saw large light from the other side of the lake. Drifting further and further under the water was Sakura.

**XxXxXxX**

Why? Why were they fighting? Why was her heart hurting more? What was this feeling?

"_I'm going to win!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke growled._

"_Don't get so cocky!" Sasuke said._

"_Stop it you two…" Sakura said as her eyes widened with fear. She soon ran in between them. "STOP IT!" Sakura cried out._

_Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. "Crap"_

"_I can't stop!" Naruto said, also realizing. Before any of them could hit her, Kakashi had come and thrown them away from Sakura._

"_What do you think you two are doing on top of the Hospital?" Kakashi asked. "Isn't it a bit too much for a sparring match?"_

_Naruto and Sasuke slowly got up. Naruto had created a large dent on the water holder as Sasuke's hand had gone right through it. Sasuke looked up at Naruto to see Naruto's damage compared to him. He smirked. His was bigger._

"_Sasuke, were you planning on killing Naruto?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke looked up to see Kakashi sitting on top of the container. "Why do you insist on always being the superior one? Chidori is not a move to use against someone from the same village. Why do you act so childish?" _

"_Che…" Sasuke muttered as he did a back flip over the fence and left. Naruto just looked down in the ground._

"_Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes as her nose began to sting. Why? Why were they fighting? Why was her heart hurting so much? What was this feeling?_

_Kakashi looked at Naruto to see him still in a trance. He soon looked down at Sakura to see she was crying._

"_Kaka-sensei" Sakura cried out to him. Kakashi sighed, disappointed in his team. He soon stopped to talk to Sakura. She looked up with tears streaming down her face._

"_Everything will be fine" Kakashi said. "It will be like the old days again. So cheer up, okay?" With that, he soon left Sakura and Naruto alone on the roof. Naruto jumped down and walked up to Sakura._

"_Sakura-chan…" Naruto began to say. "Don't interfere!" Sakura's eyes widened. _

Sakura's eyes widened. This had happened before. She started to remember. They were fighting because Sasuke was thinking about leaving the village. Just like earlier. Sasuke was going to leave the village once again.

'I couldn't do anything…' Sakura thought as she felt someone grab her hand. Faintly looking up, she saw a blurry image of Sai and Kakashi swimming towards her. They came to save her! With that thought she let herself fall into unconsciousness.

**XxXxXxX**

"What the hell were you two thinking?!" Tsunade yelled at Sasuke and Naruto. The two looked down, not daring to talk. "Because of you two fighting, Sakura tried to stop you two. If she doesn't make it, I will skin you two alive!" The three heard a splash to see Sakura and the others had made it back to the surface.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he ran to her. Kakashi had lifted Sakura in his arms as he walked towards them. Sai was silently following behind them.

"H-Hokage-sama, we need to warm her up quickly. She might get hyperthermia" Kakashi said shivering. Tsunade looked down to examine her student. She was shivering and she was turning blue. Tsunade nodded as they went to the closest place. Sasuke's house…

Once they reached the house, Kakashi began to lecture them as Tsunade tried to help Sakura. Sai had gone to take a warm bath before informing Yamato about what had happened.

Sakura was now in her room as Tsunade was warming her up.

"Those idiots…" Tsunade said as she bit her lower lip.

"W-Weak…" Sakura muttered. Tsunade only frowned at her student before leaving her to rest. Going to the living room, she saw that Kakashi had finish talking to the boys.

"She'll make it. Just prepare her warm food for the rest of the day and make sure she rest. She'll need it. I'll be going now…" Tsunade said.

"B-Baa-chan…" Naruto called out to her. Tsunade turned to glare at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Don't you dare talk to me right now! I'm really angry and disappointed at both of you" With that, she left the boys in the living room. Naruto's eyes widened before he closed his eyes. Kakashi sighed.

"Sasuke, is killing your brother really that important?" Naruto asked. Kakashi looked up to see Naruto was about to head to the hallway. He wasn't even looking at Sasuke.

"Hn…" Sasuke said.

"I guess you never really cared about Sakura-chan like I do" Naruto said as he left the room.

"Heh…" Kakashi heard Sasuke let out a laugh. He saw Sasuke trembling as his hands were in a fist. "Who does he think he is, telling me that I don't care…?" Sasuke soon got up as he walked to his room.

"Troublesome…" Kakashi said, brushing his hand through his hair. Sai just stood watching the scene.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura opened her eyes to see she was in her room.

"W-What happened?" Sakura asked herself as she thought about it. Her eyes darkened as she frowned. That's right, Sasuke found out about his brother and he and Naruto got into a big fight, almost killing her in the process. She clenched her fists. How dare they do that? She was going to be mad at them. Slowly getting up from her bed, she quickly latched herself onto the wall to help her from falling.

"Sasuke-san?" Sakura called out to the room in front of hers. There was no answer. She saw her wheelchair out in the hallways as she sat down on it and pushed herself into Sasuke's room. The bed was empty. He couldn't….

Looking around their wing of the house, she stumbled upon a room with two doors. "Sasuke-san?" Sakura opened the door as she saw it was empty. All she could see was the bloodstains on the floor and walls. Sakura's nose crinkled at the smell of blood.

"W-What is this?" Sakura asked as she slowly went inside. She soon remembered Kakashi talking about the Uchiha Massacre. Was this where Sasuke's parents were murdered? Her green eyes noticed that one of the wooden boards on the floor was loose. Rolling closer to it, she slowly got off her chair and pulled it opened. What she found were letters addressed to Sasuke's father and Danzou.

Why did this information seem familiar? Her thought went back to her memories of her mission and what Itachi had told her and what she had found in the scrolls. It was all still hazy but it was something. She needed to tell someone! Heading down the hallway, she almost bumped into someone.

"Sakura, what do you think you're doing?" Sakura turned around to see Yamato.

"Y-Yamato-san, S-Sasuke-san…he left…" Sakura said.

"I see" Yamato said. "We can still stop him you know…" Sakura's eyes widened as she smiled.

"Thank you"

**XxXxXxX**

The area brought back memories, the time when Sakura tried to stop him. She was probably still asleep right now. He can easily leave the village to stop his brother. He looked at the bench he had left Sakura on a couple years before. No, he had to stop thinking about her right now. He had to defeat his brother once and for all. Then he can finally be happy.

"I'm sorry…" Sasuke whispered as he continued to walk.

"Sasuke-san…" A timid voice called out. Sasuke's eyes widened. How did she know?

Sakura watched as Sasuke stopped walking but his back was still turned to her. Last time, no one tried to stop him leave. But this time, she will be the one to stop him.

"Go back home Sakura" Sasuke said. Sakura's eyes widened. This also felt familiar.

"_I love you with all my heart!" _

Sakura felt her heart beat faster. What was that right now?

"Why Sasuke-san?" Sakura asked.

"Go back home Sakura" Sasuke warned her. "I have to defeat my brother to get revenge for my family…and for you"

"Who said I wanted you to get revenge for me?" Sakura cried.

"Just keep out of my business" Sasuke said.

"_Why Sasuke-kun? Why won't you tell me anything?"Sakura asked._

"_Why do I have to tell you anything?" Sasuke said raising his voice a bit. "Just keep your nose out of my business"_

**XxX**

"_This is a new beginning. Each of us has a new beginning…" Sasuke said. Soon Sakura took a step forward._

"_I-I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay with me, there would be no regrets. I'll make sure every day we'll have fun. I'd do anything for you Sasuke-kun! Please, just stay with me."_

'I was in love with Sasuke-san. I was the only one who tried to stop him. Why didn't Kaka-sensei tell me? I had forgotten I was in love with him since I was little…' Sakura thought as she finally realized this information.

"S-Sasuke-kun! I love you with all my heart" Sakura cried out. Sasuke's eyes widened as the two felt their hearts beat fast. Sakura slowly got up from her wheelchair as she stood shakily.

"So…please…" Sakura said as she took two steps forward. Sasuke turned around to see Sakura on her feet.

"S-Sakura…" Sasuke said.

"So please, stay with me…" Sakura said as she took stronger steps towards him. She was walking. "I need you"

Sasuke remembered why he came back in the first place. He cared about Sakura and wanted her to get better. He always wanted to come back to the village after he defeated his brother. So what was he going to do? Help Sakura or defeat his brother?

"I-"Sakura had stopped talking as she was caught in a memory of what had happened here a couple years ago.

"Sakura?" Sasuke looked to see Sakura looked like she was spacing out. He watched as tears were rolling down her cheek. Snow slowly began to fall down on the ground.

"_If you leave, I'll scream and-"Sakura stopped when Sasuke came behind her. _

Sakura began to clutch her head in pain. She had to get away from him right now.

"H-Hey Sakura!" Yamato called out from the trees. Sasuke ran up to him as the two tried to find her. But they soon lost track of her.

"Tsunade is going to kill us" Yamato said. Sasuke gulped. Tsunade's threat of skinning him alive sounded possible at the moment.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura ran till she couldn't run anymore. Where was she, she didn't know. She slowly fell onto the cold snow as she coughed. She felt like this when she remembered Ino. But it was much worse; she felt her heart breaking as she cried. Her hot tears melted the snow below.

"_If you leave, I'll scream and-"Sakura stopped when Sasuke came behind her. _

_There was a minute or two of silence._

"_Arigato…" He soon hit her pressure point as she collapsed to the ground._

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura slowly closed her eyes as she heard someone coming up to her.

"S-Sakura?!" A voice said. He sounded familiar.

-

-

-

-

**OMG! A twist in the plot! She wasn't supposed to remember her old feelings for Sasuke but sadly she did. Yes I'm evil! Bwaahahahahaha. What will happen? What about her feelings for Naruto? Will it be strong enough for her to remember? And who was the guy at the end of the chapter? Take a guess and find out next chapter  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**As some of you guys are wondering, since this is a NaruSaku stories, where are the moments? Well Sakura is remembering her life, so of course she has to remember her old love, Sasuke. But don't worry, this will just make the story more interesting right? Well hoe you enjoy this chapter.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

_Sakura ran till she couldn't run anymore. Where was she, she didn't know. She slowly fell onto the cold snow as she coughed. She felt like this when she remembered Ino. But it was much worse; she felt her heart breaking as she cried. Her hot tears melted the snow below._

"_**If you leave, I'll scream and-"Sakura stopped when Sasuke came behind her. **_

_**There was a minute or two of silence.**_

"_**Arigato…" He soon hit her pressure point as she collapsed to the ground.**_

"_S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura slowly closed her eyes as she heard someone coming up to her._

"_S-Sakura!" A voice said. He sounded familiar._

**XxXxXxX**

"_Why are you walking around in the middle of the night?" Sasuke asked as he stopped in his steps. He looked at the ground, not daring to look up at his teammate. The moon shined brightly on them._

"_I knew you'd come this way…if you were to leave the village. So I just waited here…" Sakura responded._

"_Tch, get out of here and go back to sleep" Sasuke said as he brushed passed by Sakura. Sakura began to tremble as hot tears rolled down her cheek._

"_Why Sasuke-kun? Why won't you tell me anything?"Sakura asked._

"_Why do I have to tell you anything?" Sasuke said raising his voice a bit. "Just keep your nose out of my business" Sakura's eyes widened before a sad smile appeared on her face._

"_No matter what, you just always hate me…" Sakura said. "You remember don't you?" Sasuke kept quiet. 'When we became genin, the day when our three-man team was decided, the first time we were here by ourselves, you were so mad at me…" Sakura took a minute or two to remember the first moment she had with Sasuke._

"_I don't remember that…" Sasuke said._

_Sakura faked a laugh. "I guess you're right. That's all in the past. That's when it all began though; you and me…along with Naruto and Kaka-sensei."_

"…"

"_We did all sorts of missions, just the four of us. It was painful and difficult at times. Even with that though…I still enjoyed it." Sakura took a deep breath. "I know all about your past. Even if you get your revenge, it won't bring anyone happiness. Not even you Sasuke-kun…nor me"_

"_I already know…" Sasuke said as Sakura looked up at him. "I'm different from you all…I can't be following the same path as you guys. Up till now, we've done everything in a group. But there is something else I must do. Deep inside my heart, I've already chosen revenge. For that reason only, do I live…I'll never be like you or Naruto" _

"_You don't have to be alone Sasuke-kun! A long time ago, you told me how painful it was to be alone. I have a family and friends, but if you leave this village, it will be the same as being alone."The clouds above began to cover the moon._

"_This is a new beginning. Each of us has a new beginning…" Sasuke said, his back still facing her. Soon Sakura took a step forward. She closed her eyes and brought her hand to her chest as she finally confessed._

"_I-I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay with me, there would be no regrets. I'll make sure every day we'll have fun. I'd do anything for you Sasuke-kun! Please, just stay with me."_

_Sasuke said nothing._

"_I'll even help you with your revenge! I don't know what I could do, but I'll try my best to do something. So please…" Her voice was growing soft. "Stay with me. Take me with you if you can't stay here."_

_Sasuke finally turned around as he smirked. "You really are annoying" With that he began to walk away. Her eyes widened painfully as the tears would not stop._

"_Don't leave!" She yelled. "If you do, I'll scream a-"Sakura stopped as Sasuke came behind her._

"_Sakura…" Sasuke whispered to her._

_There was a minute or two of silence. Unknown to Sakura, a small sad smile formed upon Sasuke's lips. Sasuke slowly raised his hand near Sakura's neck._

"_Arigato…" He soon hit her pressure point as she collapsed to the ground._

"_S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered as her eyelids began to get heavy. Everything soon turned into darkness._

Green eyes slowly opened as it looked at its surroundings. She seemed to be in a room. In a corner was a candle that lit half the room.

"So you're awake…" A deep voice said. Sakura looked to her right to see a man with long brown hair and beautiful white eyes looking down at her. He looked just like that girl she had met a few months ago. She wondered if they were related.

"W-Where am I?" Sakura asked.

"You're at the Hyuga Compound. I heard noises around the area and I went to check it out. I found you lying in the snow so I brought you in. I was worried about you" Her savior said.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked. Getting a close look, she began to remember him from the picture Shikamaru had showed her.

"It's me, Neji Hyuga" Neji said. Sakura soon noticed her clothes folded neatly and set next to him. Did he…?

Neji followed her gaze as he realized what she was thinking. The both of them blushed.

"Hinata-sama changed you" He muttered looking away.

"Y-You're the guy from the picture Shikamaru showed me" Sakura said. Neji didn't know what to say so he just nodded his head. Her eyes soon widened when she remembered what happened earlier.

"S-Sasuke-san!" Sakura said out of nowhere as she quickly got up. That caused her headache to get worse as she clutched her forehead.

"Uchiha?" Neji questioned.

"H-He was trying to leave the village!" Sakura said as she clutched her forehead. "I-I was trying to stop him…like I did before" She soon began to cry again.

"Haruno-san…" Neji said not knowing what to do. "I'm sure he didn't leave…"

"But he left last time…" Sakura whispered but Neji heard her.

'She remembers?' He thought.

Soon the door to the room opened to reveal a beautiful girl with long blue hair and white eyes.

"Hinata-sama" Neji greeted. Hinata nodded her head as she walked up to Sakura.

"Sasuke-san didn't leave the village. He's talking to Tsunade-sama right now" Hinata said. Sakura looked at her as a small smile appeared on her face.

"T-Thank you…" Sakura said as she slowly fell back to sleep.

"Sakura-chan…." Hinata whispered as she moved a few strands of hair away from Sakura's face.

"That stupid Uchiha! What was he thinking?" Neji growled. The two were very protective of Sakura. A few years ago, she had saved Hinata's father from a disease and was now in debited to her.

"He found out about his brother" Hinata said as she touched Sakura's face.. Soon Hinata's eyes widened. "Neji, she's really hot right now"

"Probably got sick from being in the cold this late at night" was Neji's answer.

**XxXxXxX**

"What the heck were you thinking?!" Tsunade shouted. Yamato and Sasuke winced. Yup, her threat was starting to become real.

Sasuke said nothing as Tsunade was getting more pissed. Shizune was on the phone outside as she came back in and whispered something to Tsunade.

"Thank god" Tsunade said confusing Yamato and Sasuke. "Uchiha, you are to be tied up and locked as long as your brother leaves the village.

"What!" Sasuke snapped. "I have to defeat him. I have to get revenge for what he did to Sakura!"

"I know you care about Sakura, but I will not let you continue on with your revenge" Tsunade said.

"What about Sakura? Where is she?" Sasuke asked. Tsunade smirked.

"That's for me to know. The two outside will lead you to your new room" Tsunade said. Sasuke growled as he was led outside the room.

Tsunade soon turned her attention to Yamato. "You, inform the others that Sakura will be staying at the Hyuga's for the day."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama" Yamato said. "Oh before I leave, Sakura found these scrolls last night. It's really important that you look at them right away" Yamato soon left the office. . Tsunade sighed as she looked at her calendar. It was the 19th of December.

**XxXxXxX**

"What!" Naruto's voice echoed throughout the whole village early in the morning.

"Naruto, calm down" Kakashi said. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.

"Calm down? Calm down? Sasuke tried to leave the village and Sakura tried to stop him again, and you expect me to calm down? And you!" Naruto said looking at Yamato. "You were with her, why didn't you stop her? The last time Sasuke left the village, Sakura hurt for a very long time!"

Yamato's eyes widened as he didn't say anything.

"Don't worry Naruto. Sakura is in the Hyugas' care right now. She's safe." Kakashi said. Naruto sighed as he tried to control his temper.

"I guess…" Naruto said as he left the house.

"I swear I don't know how you put up with those three" Yamato said.

"Patience" Kakashi said as he pulled out his favorite book.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura woke up to see her alone in the room. Neither Neji nor Hinata was to be found. Slowly getting up she walked to the door that seemed to be heading outside. Opening it slowly, she could feel the nice cold air touch her skin. She exhaled as she saw her breath. Opening the door wider, she saw a beautiful land full of snow. It looked like a winter wonderland.

Grabbing her blanket to cover herself, she went outside. She sat down on the porch as her feet dangled on the side. Snow was slowly falling from the sky again. Sticking her tongue out, she let a snowflake melt. She giggled.

"There you are" A voice said. Sakura looked up to see the boy from earlier. He was carrying a plate of tea and two cups.

"Hyuga-san" Sakura said as she greeted him. Neji frowned at the formality she given to his name. They were good friends.

"_Sakura-san! You're so kind, greeting us before we leave" Lee said with hearts around him._

"_No Lee. Haruno-san is coming with us on the mission"_

"_No need for formality Neji. We've known each other for years. You should be calling me Sakura by now" Sakura smiled._

"No need for formality Sakura. We've known each other for years. Call me Neji" Neji said as he ruffled her hair. Sakura stared at him before smiling. Neji inwardly smiled. She was just like a little kid.

"Okay H-Neji-san" Sakura said. Neji soon sat down next to her, also looking at the little winter wonderland in his backyard.

"It's so beautiful" Sakura said as she reached out for a snowflake. Neji has a calm face. This reminded him of the time Sakura came over. His uncle had gotten very sick and she had taken care of him. He was really worried and depressed. To help him, she asked him a very weird question. He looked to see Sakura spacing out.

"_There you are!" A voice said. A man looked up to see Sakura smiling at him. She had tea in her hands._

"_Haruno-san…" The man said in a sad voice. "…How is he?"_

"_He's giving a good fight" Sakura said as she looked at the scenery in front of her. It was snowing as she handed Neji a cup of tea._

"_Thank you" He weakly said Sakura smiled sadly as she sat down next to him. _

"_It's so beautiful" Sakura said as she reached out for a snowflake. She began to frown when Neji didn't say anything. She saw his hands turn into fists. How could she cheer him up? Soon she had something in mind._

"_When the snow melts, what does it become?" Sakura asked out of the blue. Neji's eyes widened. That question came out of nowhere. Was she testing his intelligence?_

"_It becomes water" Neji said as if it was the easiest question in the world. Sakura let out a soft laugh as she got up and jumped onto the snow under them._

"_No silly!" Sakura said as she spun around in a circle. She soon patted some snow away on the ground as a flower bud appeared._

"_When the snow melts, it becomes spring" Sakura said as she smiled at the flower under._

Neji smiled. "Hey Sakura, when the snow melts, what does it become?"

Sakura looked at him weird. "It becomes water"

Neji shook his head as he led Sakura out to the backyard and patted some snow away. "When the snow melts, it becomes spring" Neji said as a flower bud appeared under the snow. He watched as Sakura's eyes widened with excitement.

"That was beautiful" Sakura said as her hand rested on over her heart. "Did you make that up yourself Neji-san?" Neji felt hurt with her response.

"No, a good friend of mine told me that a few years ago" Neji said.

"Really? She must be a beautiful person to think of snow like that" Sakura said as she smiled. Neji gave her a sad smile in return. Listening to the two was Hinata trying to stop her tears. Wiping her tears and taking a deep breath, she walked over to the two.

"Good morning" Hinata greeted.

"Good morning Hyuga-san" Sakura said.

"Just call me Hinata. Would you like to accompany me to buy some groceries?" Hinata asked.

"Sure" Sakura said as she got up. It was then she realized something. She looked down to see herself standing on her feet with no help. Hinata and Neji soon realized it as well.

"S-Sakura-chan!" Hinata cried as she hugged her best friend. Sakura slowly hugged her back.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura looked around in awe as Hinata and she walked around the village. Since Christmas was coming closer, the village was looking beautiful with all the lights. Hinata bought all her groceries as they stopped at a café.

Waiting for their order, Hinata shyly looked up at Sakura once in a while as Sakura would look outside the window. Finally one of them spoke.

"Hey Hinata-san, have you ever loved someone so much you'd do anything for them?" Sakura asked out of nowhere. Hinata blushed as she started to think of Naruto, then Kiba.

"Yes, I did. Why are you in love with someone?" Hinata asked. Well, she didn't have to ask. She and the girls already knew about her and Naruto. Probably Sakura remembered her feelings for Naruto since he was staying at Sasuke's house to help out.

"Yes, I realized I'm in love with someone" Sakura said. Soon a waiter came and gave the girls their orders.

"Really now?" Hinata said as she smiled waiting for that one name to come out of her mouth.

"Yes, I'm in love with…" Hinata took a sip of her hot chocolate. "…Sasuke U-Uchiha…"

A thump was heard.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

**XxX**

Tsunade rushed into a hospital room to see Hinata and Neji hovering over her apprentice. Hinata was crying and crying as Sakura lied on the bed.

"What happened before she ended up like this?" Tsunade asked. Hinata had stopped crying as she thought about it.

"Hinata…" Tsunade pressured her. "If you don't tell me what happened, I can't give a reason for this!" Hinata tensed up before looking straight into Tsunade's eyes. Hinata looked confident on the outside, but Neji could tell Hinata mentally panicked.

It was true! Hinata was mentally panicking. Sakura thought she was in love with Sasuke! This can't be happening! She's in love with Naruto! She had to tell Ino and the others, before this gets worse! She had to do something to help Sakura realize her feelings for Naruto, but how? Soon something clicked in her head. Her birthday…

"S-Sakura-san remembered her old feelings for Sasuke…" Hinata said. Tsunade clenched her fists.

"I knew this was a reason. I just can't believe this is coming true" Tsunade said as she bit down her lower lip.

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked.

"You see, I was wondering why Sakura always has these attacks when she remembered someone really close to her, which are Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto. Those three are the main people in Sakura's lives and the people that hurt her most from what Sai told me. So Shizune and I talked about it and came up with something. When she remembered Ino, she fell into a coma. Then when she remembered half her memories of Sasuke, she got really sick as you can see."

"What would happen if she remembered all her memories of Sasuke and Naruto? What would happen to her?" Neji asked.

"Something I don't want to imagine happening to her..." Hinata and Neji felt their blood turn cold.

**XxXxXxX**

Sasuke sighed as he thought back at about what happened between him and Sakura.

'She remembers…' Sasuke thought as he turned onto his side. 'She remembers her feelings for me' He shut his eyes as if it would help him forget, but it didn't. Instead he saw a picture of Sakura's crying face as she shouted her feelings out to him for the second time.

"_I love you with all my heart!"_

His eyes widened. Damn.

Slowly he got up on his bed as he lay against the wall. Naruto and the others had talked to Tsunade about letting him be in house arrest, instead of being locked up in prison. For once the dobe was useful.

He sighed as he thought about his moments with Sakura before he left the village a few years ago. When he left her, he knew he couldn't return her love. He would only hurt her. Naruto was much better for her. But that night Sakura had made him realized what Konoha and everyone in there meant to him and what he had to do to protect his important people. He didn't have the same feelings Sakura had for him. There was something, but it was nothing compared to how Naruto loved her. He knew Naruto loved Sakura for a long time; he had no right to take her away from his best friend.

Slowly getting up from his bed, he put on his shirt as his feet made contact with the cold floor. Walking closer to the window, he heard voices. He looked down to see Neji and Hinata walking to his house with Sakura. He soon went to his front door as Neji knocked on the door. Sasuke opened it.

"Hyuga…" Sasuke said as he made eye contact with Neji.

"Uchiha…" Neji muttered as Hinata led Sakura inside the house. "If you ever do another stupid act that would hurt Sakura-san, I will kill you" He threatened.

Sasuke smirked. "Like to see you try" Neji frowned.

"We need to discuss something important to you" Hinata said as Sasuke led them to the living room. The two soon told Sasuke what happened at the hospital.

"What?!" Sasuke growled.

"That's what Tsunade believes. If Sakura remembers you, she will be closer to death" Neji said.

Sasuke got up as he glared at Neji. "That's the biggest bullshit I have ever heard. Naruto and the others are trying to help bring the old Sakura back! Are you trying to imply that we're actually helping bring Sakura closer to her death?"

"If you want to think of it that way" Neji said leaning back against the door. His arms were crossed in front of his chest.

"I-If Sakura remembers the rest of her memories of you, she'll have another attack" Hinata said as she put her hands to her face to stop herself from crying. Neji just looked down to the ground. Sasuke observed the cousins' expression as he thought about it. He had to make Sakura hate him. He had to push her away for her sake. He now knew what he had to do.

"Okay…" Sasuke said. Hinata and Neji looked up at Sasuke surprised. "She won't remember me. I won't let her. Does Naruto know about this?"

"No he doesn't. And it would be best he never finds out. You can tell Kakashi-sensei, Yamato, and Sai. Just don't tell Naruto-kun please" Hinata said.

"Hn." Sasuke said as he led the cousins out of his house. Soon Hinata turned around.

"S-Sasuke-san, I-I'm having a birthday party in seven days. I hope you and the others will make it" Hinata said as she bowed down handing him an invitation.

Taking the card, he closed the door. Walking to his room, he put the card down as he went to Sakura's room. She was taking a nap.

"Sakura…" Sasuke whispered. "I'll save you"

With that said, he closed the door.

**-**

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**Yes, there has been another twist in the story. As some of you guys are probably Fruit Basket fans, the "When the snow melt…" came from the chapter about Hana. I just love how she and Tohru thought about snow like that. So cute! Well thanks for reading you guys. Please review everyone.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Drum rolls please. I, Kumiko, am proud to present you with this two-chapter special. Consider it a late Christmas present from me or after-Christmas special. I want to thank everyone for supporting me by reading my stories. I can't thank all you guys enough. Please enjoy my treat. Please review everyone **

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Okay…" Sasuke said. Hinata and Neji looked up at Sasuke. "She won't remember me. I won't let her. Does Naruto know about this?"_

"_No he doesn't. And it would be best he never finds out. You can tell Kakashi-sensei, Yamato, and Sai. Just don't tell Naruto-kun please" Hinata said._

"_Hn." Sasuke said as he led the cousins out of his house. Soon Hinata turned around._

"_S-Sasuke-san, I-I'm having a birthday party in seven days. I hope you and the others will make it" Hinata said as she bowed down handing him an invitation. _

_Taking the card, he closed the door. Walking to his room, he put the card down as he went to Sakura's room. She was taking a nap. _

"_Sakura…" Sasuke whispered. "I'll save you"_

_With that said, Sasuke closed the door._

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto stretched as he woke up in his room. He looked at the clock to see it was 10 in the morning. Walking out of the room, he went to the living room to see Sai drawing near the fireplace as Yamato was in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Where's Sakura-chan and Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura is still sleeping and Sasuke went out to train with Kakashi." Yamato said from the kitchen.

Naruto soon went down to the hallway Sakura's room was in to see her slowly making her way out of her room.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he happily went up to her.

"Good morning Naruto-san" Sakura greeted. "Is everyone awake?"

Naruto nodded. "Sai and Yamato are here. Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke went out to train."

"Oh…" Sakura said as Naruto noted the disappointment in her voice.

"Do you uh…want to go around town with me later tonight?" Naruto asked. A blush appeared on both his and Sakura's cheeks. "Uh, you see, there's a festival this whole week before Christmas and I wanted to go there with you…if you aren't busy that is…"

Sakura couldn't describe the feeling she was having in her stomach. Her heart was pounding faster than usual as she couldn't help but feel happy he was asking her. But she was in love with Sasuke; she shouldn't be feeling this way.

"Sure…" Sakura said with a smile. Naruto's eyes lit up.

"You won't regret it, trust me!" Naruto said with a bright smile as he left her in the living room with Sai. Sakura smiled to herself. She had a feeling Naruto was going to live up to his words.

Sai smiled as he continued his drawing. He probably didn't know the two for that long like the others, but he knew that they liked each other. This would be a good opportunity for the two to finally realize that.

Snap.

Sakura turned around to see Sai looking at his broken crayon. He had a confused look on his face. Sakura walked up to him as he quickly closed his drawing pad.

"Ugly, would you like to accompany me to buy a new pencil set after breakfast?" Sai asked with a smile. Sakura stared at him before nodding. At that moment, Naruto came back into the living room with Sasuke and Kakashi.

"Breakfast is served!" Yamato announced.

**XxXxXxX**

"Can you believe Christmas is coming up soon?" Sakura said as she ran around in a circle. Sai had bought his new pencil set as Sakura ran around in the snow. "In just four more days, this village is gonna shine!"

Sai was reminded of a little kid getting his first ice cream or something. "You're so childish" Sai commented as Sakura stuck her tongue out. He was glad Sakura had remembered him earlier in the month. He couldn't describe the feeling he got when that happened.

"Do you want hot chocolate?" Sakura asked.

"I'll get it" Sai said as he left his bag and drawing book on a bench and told Sakura to stay there. Doing as she was told, she watched Sai slowly get lost in the crowd. She sighed deeply as her hand made contact with Sai's drawing book.

"What's this?" Sakura asked out loud as she remembered Sai holding this earlier. But why wouldn't he let her see it? Soon she opened the book as the picture had surprised her. It seemed awfully familiar.

"_Sai?" Sakura called out as she walked to where Sai was outside. "Hey, drawing a picture?"_

_Sai turned around to see Sakura standing there. _

"_What is it?" He asked. Sakura didn't say anything as she would continue to look at the picture._

"_You're really vulgar, but you have a nice side too, right?" Sakura said as she said with a fake smile. "…unexpected"_

_Sai smiled back with a fake smile of his own. "That fake smile…wasn't that hit before good enough for you?"_

_Sakura made an evil smile. "No…not really" She then smiled nicer. "Just kidding! I just wanted to see what you were drawing"_

"_Ah…" Sai said. Sakura mentally frowned. It reminded her of Sasuke._

"_I thought it might be a landscape since you were drawing out here, but it's actually an abstract." Sakura said as she continued to look at the picture. "So, what's it called?"_

"_Name?" Sai was confused._

"_You haven't decided on a name yet?"_

"_No, that's not it" Said Sai. "I've drawn hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures so far…none of them has titles."_

"_Oh…" Sakura said. "But don't pictures usually have titles? Like portraits have the person's name on it. Other pictures have the situation at the time, and the artist's feelings…"_

_Sai soon stopped his drawing. "To be precise, even if I try to give them a name, I just can't do it."_

"_?" Sakura soon looked at him._

"…_They don't put me in mind of anything. I don't feel anything."_

"No title…" Sakura said as she flipped to the next couple of pages. Soon her eyes widened when she saw the next picture. It was a picture of her at the beach. She was wearing a white bikini as she was splashing water at a man boy that seemed to resemble Naruto.

She soon flipped the next picture to see her training. As she continued to flip the pages, she began to notice scribbles under the picture.

She stopped at a picture of in a hospital bed as there were wires connected to her. Under that picture was the words "Broken Cherry Blossom"

"_Ohhh…" Sakura said. "But don't pictures usually have titles? Like portraits have the person's name on it. Other pictures have the situation at the time, and the artist's feelings…"_

_Sai soon stopped his drawing. "To be precise, even if I try to give them a name, I just can't do it."_

"_?" Sakura soon looked at him._

"…_They don't put me in mind of anything. I don't feel anything."_

"He put a title…" Sakura whispered. She flipped to the next page that happened to be the last page.

It was a picture of her. There was a bright yellow moon behind her as she seemed to be falling back. There was a glow between her hands that were close to her heart as tears were forming in her eyes. It seemed like a fan art. Under this picture, there was something that was scratched out. Sakura looked closer to see it said "The Wilting Cherry Blossom". Next to that was another title… "Release"

Sakura was speechless as she closed the book and looked down the street to see Sai coming up with cups of hot chocolate.

"Sorry Hag, there were a lot of people wanting some hot chocolate." Sai said putting the drinks down on the empty spot on the bench. He noticed the look on Sakura's face as she looked up at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

Sakura slowly got up and put her arms around him. Sai stiffened from the sudden embrace as he slowly begun to hug her back. The villagers passing by started to stare at the two.

"H-Hey, are you okay?" Sai asked again. He felt Sakura nod her head on his chest.

"You are capable to feel. I saw the pictures…" Sakura whispered. "Thank you…" Sai didn't know what to say as the two stayed like that for a couple minutes.

**XxXxXxX**

The two had gotten back around lunchtime as they saw everyone in the living room.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he pulled her in a hug.

"Hello Naruto-san" Sakura greeted as she hugged him back. She looked over to see Sasuke on the couch eating a tomato. She blushed as Naruto released her from his hug.

"Sakura-chan, you're all red!" Naruto said putting a warm hand on her face.

"I-I…" Sakura didn't know what to say.

"Well apparently she was just outside in the cold Naruto-kun" Yamato said.

"Ooh" Naruto said.

"Dobe…" Sasuke said as he finished his snack. There was soon a knock on the door. Sakura opened it as she was soon pulled into another hug.

"Hello Sakura" Suigetsu said.

"Hello Suigetsu. Hello Juugo and Karin" Sakura smiled as she hugged each of them.

"Good afternoon Sakura" Juugo said.

"Hey" Karin said.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING HERE?" Naruto shouted as everyone covered their ears.

"DON'T YELL!" Karin shouted back. Everyone continued to cover their ears as the two went back and forth.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

"OH YEAH? WATCH ME!"

"YOU WANNA GO?" Naruto said but stop when he felt someone pull on his arm. He looked down to see Sakura shyly blushing at him.

"T-They're my friends." Sakura said shyly. "The Hokage is making them part of Konoha now. Soon they'll be ninjas like you"

Naruto soon turned his attention to the rest of the members of Team Hebi.

"Welcome to Konoha! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage" Naruto said as he pulled out his hand to shake with theirs.

Sakura smiled at the scene as she turned to look at Sasuke to see him going to the kitchen. She soon went to follow him.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered. The memories she got back so far was still fresh in her mind. He had left the village but he's here now. What had happened? Why did Kakashi lie to her? This was so confusing! Sasuke knew Sakura was following him.

"Sasuke-kun" Sakura called out as she tugged on his arm. Sasuke quickly pulled his arm back, startling Sakura in the process.

"What do you want?" Sasuke said in a harsh tone. Sakura's eyes widened. Why was he being so mean to her all of a sudden? He was usually so nice to her.

"W-Why aren't you talking to your friends?" Sakura asked.

"Hn…" Sasuke said as he walked to the back. Sakura bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying. She soon felt someone place their hand on top of her head. Looking up she saw Kakashi smiling down at her.

"Yo" He said.

"Kaka-sensei…" Sakura wiped her tears. Kakashi mentally frowned. Her crying reminded her of their genin days; especially with her long hair. Back in the days, Sakura would cry to him because of what Sasuke did. Why was Sasuke being mean to her now? Wasn't his reason for coming back to the village was to help Sakura and make up for his mistakes in the past?

Kakashi sighed. He'll never understand what's going through that kid's mind. "It's okay Sakura. Sasuke is just going through things."

"Liar…" Sakura said. Kakashi didn't know whether to laugh from nervousness or frown.

"I'm not lying, Sakura"

"You lied about when Sasuke-kun left the village. You said no one tried to stop him. But it was I who tried to stop him" Sakura cried. Kakashi's eyes widened. She remembered?

"How did you-"

"I don't know, I tried to stop Sasuke-kun the other night, then it just came to mind" Sakura cried. "I want to know the truth! I want to know everything that happened that night"

"Okay…" Kakashi said as he and Sakura went to her room to talk.

**XxXxXxX.**

"I want you to tell me everything you know of what happened that night Kaka-sensei. No more lies" Sakura said as she crossed her arms. She was sitting on her bed as Kakashi was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed.

"I got it. Well you see before Sasuke left the village, he and Naruto got into a big fight. You tried to stop that and almost got hurt in the process if I didn't come in time." Kakashi said.

"The memory I had at the lake…" Sakura whispered.

Kakashi nodded as he continued. "Later that night, I tried to talk to Sasuke and tell him to give up his revenge, but then there were these Sound Nin that convinced him to continue. Later that night, I guess you had a feeling something was going on and you went to stop him. You cried your heart out but in the end he still left to defeat his brother. You broke after that. You were never the same"

"Brother?" Sakura asked. Kakashi nodded.

"He had an older brother; Itachi Uchiha. When Sasuke was 8 years old, his brother had wiped out his whole clan, leaving Sasuke to live. It was said Itachi killed his clan to test out his powers. Since then, Sasuke has chosen his path as an avenger to defeat his brother and get vengeance for his family."

"T-That's not true…." Sakura said. Kakashi gave her a weird look.

"What are you talking about Sakura?" Kakashi asked. Sakura raised her hand to her forehead.

"The other night…when I was looking for Sasuke-kun, I ended up in a room…and I found something" Sakura said knowing she wasn't really making any sense. "Captain Yamato…he took a few to Hokage-sama"

"What room?" Sakura looked up to see Kakashi standing up.

"The room where Sasuke-kun's parents were murdered…" She said. Getting up slowly, she led Kakashi to the room she went to the other night. Kakashi looked around the room and shook thinking of another scene in his life.

"Right there" Sakura said pointing as a loose board in the floor. Kakashi walked to the loose board and opened it to see papers between Danzou and the head leader of the Uchiha clan. He couldn't believe all of this.

"O-On my mission…" Sakura began to say. "I remember talking to someone who looked like Sasuke-kun. He told me everything. I-I…"

"It's okay Sakura." Kakashi said. He had to talk to Tsunade about this. Sakura nodded.

'**We have to tell Sasuke-kun' **a voice said in her mind.

"Did you say something Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked all of a sudden.

Kakashi gave her a weird look. "I didn't say anything."

'**I said something!'**

'Who are you?'

'**I'm your inner self. It took a while, but I'm finally able to talk to you. Before the mission, I'd always talk to you and help you with problems. But after the mission, I wasn't able to till now.'**

'Am I going insane?!'

'**No you're not. Even ask Ino. She'll tell you everything.'**

Sakura shook her head. Maybe she was still not okay.

"Let's go" Kakashi said as he lifted Sakura onto his back and headed to Tsunade's office. She can probably tell the Hokage everything that she remembered.

**XxXxXxX**

Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she had finished reading all the letters. There was a dark aurora around her as her chakra-filled fist had hit the wall of her building, destroying it as it fell into the ground below. You could hear people yelling and a large crash.

Kakashi had sweat-dropped as he nervously laughed while Sakura hid behind him. She was trembling like crazy. Yamato just shook his head.

"She's scary Kaka-sensei…" Sakura said burying her face deeper against his back. Kakashi turned around as he faced her.

"Sakura, don't worry. This is the Hokage. She is one of your sensei now. You shouldn't be afraid of her. She treats you like a daughter." Kakashi said trying to comfort her. Sakura had stopped trembling as she looked at the Hokage trying to calm herself down.

"How dare he?! That bastard!" Tsunade said.

"I have a feeling, you didn't read what I gave you the other day" Yamato said.

"So does that mean Itachi-san was actually trying to protect Konoha?" Sakura asked. Kakashi's eyes widened as Tsunade sat down in her chair looking at Itachi's file.

"I don't know what to believe anymore…" Tsunade said.

"Seems possible" Yamato said.

Tsunade took a deep breath. "I need a large bottle of sake. This information can only stay between us four, got it?" The three nodded.

"This subject feels familiar…" Sakura whispered to herself as she told Kakashi, Yamato, and Tsunade she was going to go walk around the city. Leaving the room, she sighed as she began to head down the hall, until she bumped into something.

"I'm so sorry" Sakura said bowing.

"How troublesome" The voice spoke. Sakura's eyes widened as she looked up.

"Shikamaru!" Sakura said as she hugged him. Shikamaru's eyes widened. For some odd reason, Sakura seemed to feel smaller than before. He and the others had felt that Sakura was either getting smaller or they were getting bigger, which Ino had objected to. Sakura was to his chin. A month ago she was at least up to his nose

"How have you been?" Sakura asked pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I'm good. How is Sasuke treating you?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura's eyes flickered as she thought about Sasuke's attitude towards her earlier this morning.

"He's doing a good job. Kaka-sensei, Sai, Captain Yamato, and Naruto-san are helping me as well" Sakura said with a smile. Shikamaru noticed how she said Naruto-san. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just delivering some medical potions the Hokage needed from the Nara forest. I was on my way out. You?" Shikamaru asked as the two began to walk outside leaving fresh foot print on the snow.

"_I don't know what to believe anymore…" Tsunade said. "I need a large bottle of sake. This information can only stay between us three, got it?"_

"C-Check-up?" Sakura said. She hated lying. Shikamaru didn't seem to really care as they continued to walk around town.

"I heard you're going to the festival tonight…" Shikamaru said. "…with Naruto" Sakura blushed. She had almost forgotten about that.

**Ba-Bump… ba-bump… ba-bump…**

There it was again. That feeling every time she thought about Naruto. What was this feeling? She barely knew the man. She was in love with Sasuke, and that's all the matters right?

Sakura nodded. "Y-Yes, I'm accompanying him to the festival. Are you going?" Sakura asked as they made a turn up to Shikamaru's favorite place to watch the clouds. The cement was covered in snow but the shelter was not.

"Yeah, I'm going with Ino" Shikamaru said as he patted the empty spot next to him. Sakura sat down next to him. Shikamaru grabbed the blankets that were there behind them.

"Where did you get these?" Sakura asked as she wrapped the thick blanket around her shoulders.

"Ino or Chouji had been coming here with me a couple times this month. So I brought blankets just in case.

Sakura smiled. "Smart" She commented. The two friends soon relaxed under the shelter as they talked.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto gulped as he put on his flannel kimono robe. He was finally going to have time with Sakura. He never really had a chance to hang out with her because he'd be on missions or Sakura would be at the hospital or with someone else, much to his dislike.

To be honest, he was afraid. How different was Sakura now? Would everything turn out okay tonight? Multiple questions popped up in his head.

"Arg!" Naruto said shaking his head. "Just go with the flow"

Walking into the living room, he spotted the guest on the couch.

"Shikamaru" Naruto greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Ino wanted to dress Sakura up tonight. So she wanted us to meet them there" Shikamaru said.

"I see" Naruto said as he said goodbye to who was in the living room. Sasuke came in just to watch Naruto close the door.

"Where's the dobe and Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"They're going to the festival" Sai said with a smile. "All of us can probably go together tomorrow night. The festival will be held until the end of December.

"Che…" Sasuke said as he walked away. Like he cared if Naruto and Sakura went out without him.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto's eyes sparkled when he saw the festival. People were laughing and having the time of their lives. There were beautiful lights around as the place gave him a warm feeling inside.

"There they are" Shikamaru said as he pointed to two girls heading their way. Naruto's eyes widened. Sakura's bangs were parted to the right as the rest of her hair was braided into two, each going over her shoulder. A cherry blossom clip was on the left side of her head. Her kimono was an ivory white color with pink cherry blossoms designed all over. A light pink obi went with it. To describe it all, Sakura looked absolutely…

"Beautiful…" Naruto whispered. Shikamaru heard this and smirked.

"G-Good evening Naruto-san" Sakura said as she blushed. She began to fidget with her fingers.

"Gosh, don't pull a Hinata now!" Ino said as she pushed Sakura into Naruto. The contact made Sakura blush even more.

"Ino, you're not helping" Shikamaru said.

"Yes I am. If Sakura doesn't hurry and remember her feelings for Naruto, she will continue to fall for Sasuke" Ino whispered.

"Yes but-wait what?" Shikamaru whispered back. His eyes widened. Before all this, Sakura had once told him that she was falling for Naruto.

"Hinata told me all about it. This isn't good" Ino said as she ran her fingers through her bangs. Shikamaru looked at Naruto and Sakura and smiled.

"Well, don't stress about it too much" Shikamaru said as he pointed at the couple. Ino's blue eyes moved to see Naruto trying to win Sakura a teddy bear as she was cheering him on. "I don't think you need to do anything but let them be. If Sakura's feelings for Naruto are strong, it will overcome anything; even her remembering her old feelings for Sasuke"

Ino stared at her lover, thinking about what he said. "You're right"

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**Whoosh, how was that? Naruto is finally having moments with Sakura. I didn't want to rush the NaruSaku right away. I wanted it to slowly grow. Thank you for reading everyone. Please continue to read my work. Don't forget to read the next chapter of this Christmas special.**

**-Kumiko**


	15. Chapter 15

**Pairing: NaruXSaku. I'm so not good with summaries ahaha. Does that sound good though? Why I write such sad stories? I do not know.**

**Warning: This might end up as another tearjerker, so just a warning ahead of time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto sadly. If I did, Sasuke would have stopped being gay and come back to Konoha.**

**Hey Everyone! I miss my deadline! I tried to update this story for Christmas, but to busy. Wanted this to be a Christmas Special. Oh well, this will just be an after-Christmas special then. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Please read and review**

**XxXxXx**

"_Ino, you're not helping" Shikamaru said._

"_Yes I am. If Sakura doesn't hurry and remember her feelings for Naruto, she will continue to fall for Sasuke" Ino whispered._

"_Yes but-wait what?" Shikamaru whispered back. His eyes widened. Before all this, Sakura had once told him that she was falling for Naruto._

"_Hinata told me all about it. This isn't good" Ino said as she ran her fingers through her bangs. Shikamaru looked at Naruto and Sakura and smiled._

"_Well, don't stress about it too much" Shikamaru said as he pointed at the couple. Ino's blue eyes moved to see Naruto trying to win Sakura a teddy bear as she was cheering him on. "I don't think you need to do anything but let them be. If Sakura's feelings for Naruto are strong, it will overcome anything; even her remembering her old feelings for Sasuke" _

_Ino stared at her lover, thinking about what he said. "You're right"_

**XxXxXxX**

"Naruto-san! Naruto-san, over here!" Sakura called out to Naruto as he found her standing in front of the merry-go-round.

"Do you want to go on it?" Naruto asked. Sakura quickly nodded her head.

"Let's go then" Naruto said as he grabbed Sakura's hand and led her to the entrance. Sakura's eyes widened for a second as a sudden emotion shined in them. She stared as Naruto's yellow spikes moved in the air. She slowly looked down at their hands. His hands were really warm. There was something about him that made her feel safe and protected.

"Which one do you want to ride on?" Naruto asked as Sakura looked at the different seats. There was a sleigh, horses, and many others.

Sakura's big green eyes looked around as they stopped at a horse. Sakura pointed her finger to the one she wanted.

"That one?" Naruto asked with a smile. Sakura shyly nodded her head. "If Sakura-chan wants to" Before Sakura knew it, Naruto had carried her bridal style and put her on the horse. He soon joined her on it. One of the workers saw this.

"Hey you two! One person on a horse! If you want to ride together go on a sleigh or-"The worker stopped when an old lady hit him with her cane.

"Oh stop your nagging, Hiroshi! Can't you see that Miss Haruno and Mr. Uzumaki are on a date?" The two blushed.

"Haruno? You mean Sakura Haruno?!" The man said as he soon went back to look at the couple. She was thinner, and paler. But she still had that beautiful pink hair and large green eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry for my son's actions" The old lady said with a smile. "You guys can continue to ride as much as you can"

"Thank you" Naruto said. Sakura's eyes lit up as she smiled.

The music began to play as the two slowly moved. Looking around, Naruto saw Ino and Shikamaru coming towards the merry-go-round with cotton candy. Ino seemed to notice them as she shouted their names and waved. Shikamaru just smiled at them as he took pictures.

After three turns, the two finally got off.

"Finally!" Ino said as she and Shikamaru got up from their seats.

"Sorry" Sakura said shyly.

"Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked, noticing Sakura's face was a bit pale with her cheeks were really pink.

"I-I'm fine" Sakura said shaking her hands in front of her.

"Okay" Shikamaru said.

"But if you don't feel good, tell us okay?" Ino said as she wrapped her hands around Shikamaru's arm. Sakura nodded.

"Now, where do you guys want to go?" Naruto asked.

"Tea cups!" Sakura and Ino said together.

"Huh?" Naruto was confused.

"Come on Naruto-san!" Sakura said as she gently pulled Naruto's hand. Shikamaru had seen Ino talking to the people in line and the person working. They all seemed to agree to what Ino had said. She ran back to him with a huge smile.

"What did you do?" Shikamaru asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Ino smiled as she wrapped her arms around his body. "Giving them a chance"

Shikamaru looked back to see people in line quickly leaving.

**XxXxXxX**

"Where's everyone going?" Sakura asked confused to why people were leaving the ride. Was something wrong with it?

"I was going to ask you the same question" Naruto said. "Well, let's go anyways"

"B-but, something must have been wrong with the ride!" Sakura said.

"Only one way to find out" Naruto smiled at her.

Two entered and sat inside one of the big teacups.

"See, nothing's wrong" Naruto said.

Sakura's eyes widened before she smiled. A light blush formed in her cheeks. "Yeah"

The ride began to move as the two hung on to the bar in the middle.

"Spin" Naruto said as she began to turn it. Sakura began to laugh as Naruto joined her. The two started to spin slowly, but it soon picked up speed.

"Hang on tight" Naruto said. Sakura just giggled as she felt her long hair move with the wind. She looked to see Naruto closing his eyes as he was smiling.

**Ba-bump…ba-bump…ba-bump**

There it was once more. Her heart was beating really fast as her face felt hot. She wasn't sure if it was because of her sickness or Naruto. She soon saw Naruto opening his eyes as his face had a concern look on. Sakura just smiled at him as she took his hand in hers. Naruto soon let go of the bar as the ride seemed to have slowed down.

"Are you okay Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as they got off the ride. Sakura didn't answer as she just followed after Naruto. He soon stopped walking; his back was still turned to her.

"We'll we should let you relax, don't want to you to get a fever or something and I-"Naruto stopped talking when he felt something hot touch his back.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called out. He turned around to see Sakura slowly fall to the ground. Naruto began to panic. "Omg! Sakura-chan! Did you get a fever after I said that, or you had one the whole day and didn't tell me? Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered. Her vision was getting blurry as she could feel someone carrying her.

"_Sakura-chan!"_

"_Sakura-chan, are you okay?"_

"_I'll protect you, Sakura-chan"_

Who was saying that to her? She couldn't tell…

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura opened her eyes to see herself back in her room at Sasuke's house. She felt pressure on the left side of the bed. Looking down, she saw Naruto resting on his folded arms.

"Naruto-san…" Sakura whispered.

"He's been here the whole time" A voice said. Sakura looked at the door to see Karin.

"Karin" Sakura said surprised.

"When I found out you collapsed at your trip to the festival, I came…to see how you were…" Karin muttered the last part. "Naruto took you here as fast as he could. You gave everyone quiet a scare" Karin said. "I was ordered by the Hokage to watch over you, until you wake up. But this idiot here, decided to stay too, much to my dislike"

"How long have I been out" Sakura asked as she moved a bit without waking up Naruto.

"Three days" Karin said. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Three days?" Sakura repeated shocked.

"It was a really high fever" Karin took out some medicine for Sakura.

"Tomorrow is Christmas!" Sakura said. "I still need to set everything for Tomorrow"

"What you need to do is rest" Karin said. "If you don't rest up, you won't be able to participate tomorrow"

"What!"

"You heard me" Karin sighed. "Look, not that I care or anything, but you need to get better. You don't want people to always be worried about you and-"Karin was interrupted when a blur entered the room.

"Here you go Princess, breakfast in bed" Suigetsu said as he smiled at her. "Glad to see you up"

"Thank you" Sakura said as Suigetsu placed the tray on her lap.

"SUIGETSU!" Karin growled as she punched him in the face. "How dare you do that to me?!"

"Tch, whatever" Suigetsu said with a smile. "Bye" Karin chased Suigetsu out of the room.

"S-Sakura-chan…" Sakura looked down to see Naruto talking in his sleep. She smiled as she ruffled his hair as she began to eat her breakfast.

"Hey" Sakura said softly.

"How are you feeling?" Naruto asked as he touched her cheek. Sakura could feel the heat return to her cheeks.

"Hm…looks like you still have a fever. You should rest more" Naruto said in a worried tone. "I shouldn't have taken you out that night. You wouldn't have gotten sick…"

"No!" Sakura shouted as she quickly covered her mouth. "I-It's not your fault. I pushed myself when I shouldn't have" Sakura soon looked at Naruto to see him looking at her with a surprised look. He soon smiled.

"What time is it?" Sakura asked as she stretched.

"It's still morning. Most likely one in the afternoon" Naruto said.

"Good, then you can help me get this house ready for Christmas" Sakura said. "But, I need you to help me distract Karin-san"

"Consider it done" Naruto said as he saluted her.

**XxXxXxX**

"Karin! Karin!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to Karin and Suigetsu in the living room.

"What?" Karin asked.

"Sakura's grandmother is visiting. Sakura wants to pick her up right now." Naruto said. Which was true, Tsunade announced that Sakura's grandma would be coming over for Christmas.

"I thought I told her she had to stay in bed. Where is her Grandma?" Karin asked

"She's at a village, about two or three hours from here" Naruto said.

Karin had told control herself from yelling that it was far. "…fine, but you and I will pick her up"

"Fine with me" Naruto grinned.

Karin got her coat as she turned to look at Suigetsu. "Make sure you and Juugo watch over Sakura. Sasuke-kun and the others are training"

"Don't worry" Suigetsu said. Karin started at him before closing the door behind her.

After a few minutes, a voice echoed around the house.

"Did she leave?" Sakura asked

"Yeah" Suigetsu said.

"Good, let's get ready for Christmas!" Sakura said as she slowly went to the kitchen. She remembered asking Kakashi to buy the food a few days ago and it seemed like he remembered.

For the next few hours, Suigetsu and Juugo had helped Sakura prepare the holiday meals. Sakura heard the door open as someone entered the house. She prayed it wasn't Karin and Naruto.

"Yum, something smells good!" A familiar voice said.

Sakura looked over to see Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji entering the house.

"Forehead-girl!" Ino called out as she hugged her friend.

"Hey Ino-pig, what are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Didn't Naruto tell you? We're going to have a Christmas party here" Chouji said.

"Really?" Sakura said surprised.

"Yup, now get your butt out of the kitchen and relax. I'll get the food ready; just open the door for the guest." Ino said. Shikamaru had brought some food they had prepared earlier.

"I'll set the presents" Chouji said as he took out the presents from his back and placed them under the Christmas tree.

"Oh, the presents!" Sakura said as she was about to go to her room.

"Way ahead of you Ugly" Sai said as he entered the room with the large back of presents.

"Sai…" Sakura whispered.

"Glad to see you're up" Sai said.

"Where are Sasuke-kun and the others?" Sakura asked.

"They're on the way. They sent me to check up on you since we saw Naruto-kun and Karin leave the village" Sai answered as he squatted down the tree to place the presents.

The door soon knocked as Sakura opened the door. "Hyuga-san!" Sakura said as she opened the door wider for them.

"Hello Sakura" Neji greeted.

"Sakura-san" Lee said as he hugged her. Sakura remembered him as Lee. Ino had taken her one day to his house to drop off the presents for his birthday.

"Lee-san" Sakura said as she smiled. She soon looked behind them to see Hinata and another girl she didn't know.

"Hello Sakura-chan" Hinata said as she hugged her friend.

"Hello Hinata-san" Sakura smiled. Her green eyes soon locked with the other girl's chocolate ones.

"Sakura…" The woman said as Sakura found herself in a tight hug from the girl. The girl soon pulled away as she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "It's Tenten. I know you don't remember me, but I hope that won't stop us from still being friends"

Sakura's eyes widened as she smiled. "Of course not"

"How come Kiba and Shino aren't with you?" Chouji asked as he was munching on a bag of chips.

"They're dropping Kurenai-sensei at the hospital" Hinata answered. "Her baby is due to arrive anytime today"

"She's finally going to have her baby!" Lee said excitedly.

"And it's a boy" Shikamaru said with a smile. He took out Asuma's lighter as it turned it on for a minute.

"Why is everyone at my house?" Sasuke asked as he entered his house. She brushed some of the snow from his shoulders. Kakashi and Yamato followed after him.

"Naruto" Everyone answered.

"That idiot…." Sasuke said.

"M-Merry Christmas" A voice said. Sasuke looked up to see Sakura in front of him.

"Sakura, how are you feeling?" Yamato asked.

"I'm doing well" Sakura answered with a smile. "Naruto-san was with me the whole time, until he left with Karin"

Sasuke clenched his fist in his pocket as she walked away. Kakashi watched him leave with a knowing smile.

"Ah…" Sakura quickly followed Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, wait" Sakura called out for him as they were out in the back.

"Leave me alone" Sasuke snapped at her.

"Are you alright?" She asked as she took a step closer. "You don't seem to be in a good mood" Sakura placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder only to have it slapped away. Her green eyes widened as tears formed.

"Just leave me alone! You're so annoying!" Sasuke yelled at her. He soon realized what he did but it was too late as Sakura ran away to some place in the house.

He fell to his knees as he hung on to a tree. Why did he always make her cry? Why couldn't he be like Naruto and make her smile?

Sasuke slowly entered his house to see that more people have arrived to this Christmas party, but Sakura was not around. Hopefully she didn't end up in a certain room.

"We're back!" A loud voice boom through the room. Sasuke didn't even have to look to know who it was.

"Dobe…" Sasuke said, remembering it was Naruto who planned the party at his house.

"Ehehehe. Hey Teme! I know you mad about this party, but it was for Sakura-chan. She wanted all of us together for Christmas." Naruto said. When he put it like that, Sasuke couldn't say no.

"Sasuke-kun, I have returned" Karin said as she immediately attached herself to Sasuke's arm.

"Great, she's back" Suigetsu said as he, Juugo, and Ino came into the room with food ready to be served.

"What was that Suigetsu?" Karin asked as he eyes glint.

"Nothing" He muttered.

"Let's eat!" Chouji said as he immediately went to the table.

"Where's my grand-daughter?" a soft voice asked. People turned their heads to see an old woman with big green eyes and light pink hair.

"Now that you mentioned it, where is she?" Yamato questioned.

"I'll look for her" Grandma Haruno said. "You youngsters enjoy the party" With that said, she walked around the house.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura found herself in her room, crying once again.

"Sakura-chan?" A voice said as someone opened her door. She looked to see an old lady entering.

"G-Grandma?" Sakura whispered as she hugged her Grandmother.

"Sakura-chan, it's been a while" She said as she patted her granddaughter's head.

"I missed you" Sakura said.

"Why are you crying?" Grandma Haruno asked. "Did that Uchiha fellow make you cry again?"

"H-How did you know?" Sakura asked.

"When I used to stay with you when you were younger, you'd usually come home crying, either because of that Uchiha or something else."

Sakura didn't know what to say. Her grandmother just smiled. "Look, let's go back to the party and have some fun. I won't be staying here that long. There's something I need to speak about with Tsunade-sama"

"Okay…" Sakura said as she wiped her tears away.

Coming back to the party, everyone was already eating as Hinata came up to her, handing her a plate of food.

"Thank you" Sakura said with a smile.

"Sakura-chan" Naruto said as he went up to her.

"Hello Naruto-san." Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed that Sakura's eyes were red and a bit puffy. Looking over to her Grandmother, he saw her eyes avert to Sasuke.

"I'll be back" Naruto said leaving Sakura confused.

"Sasuke, can I talk to you?" Naruto said as he took Sasuke outside.

"Why did you make Sakura-chan cry again? I didn't bring you back to make her get hurt again!" Naruto snarled.

"Hn…"

That ticked Naruto off more.

"It's Christmas, Sasuke! This was supposed to be a day of happiness and giving, and you're making Sakura-chan cry."

"I have my reasons!" Sasuke snapped back. He remembered telling the Hyuga cousins that he wouldn't tell Naruto about Sakura's predicament.

"And what's that huh? Do you enjoy hurting Sakura-chan every time you have the chance?" Naruto shouted.

"You hurt her too! Don't act like you've never done it" Sasuke said. Once he said that, he knew he took it too far.

"_N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered as she tried to heal him but he slapped her hand away._

"_Don't touch me!" Naruto growled. Sakura's eyes widened. _

"_W-What?"_

"_It's your entire fault!" Naruto shouted. He had his fists by his sides. "If it weren't for you, we could have had Sasuke here with us, but you had to get in the way! You're a burden to the team! That's why Sasuke left!" Naruto breathed heavily as he turned around. Sakura had gotten up. She felt so shaky. _

"_I would have expected this from anyone but you…" Sakura whispered as she walked away._

"You're right…" Naruto said as he unclenched his fists. "I'm sorry, I just care so much about Sakura-chan. Just knowing she went through what she had on that mission, just for us…It our fault…"

Sasuke stared at his best friend. He knew Naruto was in love with Sakura. He had to accept that. He had no right to take her away from him. He had left her crying that night. He caused her so much pain. He didn't deserve her, Naruto did. That's why he had to make Sakura hate him.

"I know, but…you just have to trust me on what I do" Sasuke said as he turned around to head back to the party. "I…Sakura is like family to me, you know that. So what I do is what I can do to protect her…to save her. I want you to know that" Sasuke soon entered the house leaving Naruto confused.

Entering the party, he saw Sasuke going up to Kakashi and leaving with him.

"Let's open presents!" Ino announced as everyone agreed. People formed around the Christmas tree as Ino went and pulled one of the presents.

"To Lee" Ino said handing the present to Lee. "From Tenten"

"Thank you very much Tenten" Lee said as he opened his gift to see new nun-chucks.

"You're welcome"

One by one, presents were being distributed to another. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo felt a bit left out since they weren't close to the others. They didn't really expect presents from anyone but themselves.

"To Suigetsu" Ino called out. Suigetsu's yellow eyes widened with the mention of his name. Someone got him a present? It was probably from Juugo or Karin. "From Sakura"

That surprised him. When did she have a chance to go and get presents? He got up to get his gift. His gift was a pet kitten. He looked at Sakura who blushed.

"I-I saw you play with a lot of animals, especially kittens, so I thought you'd like one of your own." Sakura said.

"Thanks Sakura" Suigetsu said as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Karin's eyes widened at this a bit but said nothing. Naruto's and Lee's eyes widened at this.

"Noooo!" They shouted.

"I already have to compete against Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun for Sakura-san's affections! I don't need a new one!" Everyone laughed.

"Sakura-chan is mine!" Naruto said grabbing Sakura in a protective hold.

"Says who?' Suigetsu asked teasing.

"I do" Naruto said. "Right Sakura-chan?"

"Naruto-san" Sakura said as she punched him. "I'm no one's property"

"Here's a present for Juugo" Ino said handing a present to him. "It's from Sakura as well"

"There was no need to get me a present Sakura-san" Juugo said politely.

"You deserve it" Sakura answered smiling.

"One for Karin" Ino said still distributing presents.

"M-Me?" Karin said. "Sakura, you got me one?"

Sakura nodded her head. Karin opened her gift to see it was a nice, warm scarf.

"It was hand-made…" Sakura said. "When you guys wouldn't let me leave the house, I took time to knit you a scarf"

Karin looked back from Sakura to the scarf, then back to Sakura again.

"T-Thank you…." Karin said as a small blushed formed on her cheeks.

Sakura smiled big.

"Hm…Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei aren't here. I'll just leave their presents under the tree" Ino said. Everyone was thanking each other as Konohamaru and his friends came rushing in.

"Everyone! Everyone!"

"Konohamaru, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"K-Kurenai-sensei…" he said out of breath.

"She just gave birth to a baby boy!" Udon and Moegi said together.

"When can we see them?" Hinata and her team asked.

"Probably in a few days" Kakashi said as he and Sasuke had entered the house.

"You went to see Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked. Kakashi just nodded as he noticed that the gifts had already been exchanged. Looking over to Sasuke, he saw him going up to Sakura and watching them go somewhere around the house. Naruto had secretly followed them as well.

"Where are you taking me Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke said nothing as he continued to walk ahead of Sakura. Sakura frowned but continued to follow him.

Sasuke finally stopped at the end the hallway. Slowly opening the door, he gestured Sakura to enter. Sakura's mouth dropped to see a piano in the center of the room.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura didn't know what to say as she went closer to the piano.

"You used to play piano a lot when we were younger…" Sasuke muttered. Sakura looked at him with a shocked look. Was Sasuke trying to apologies to her?

"It's your Christmas gift." Sasuke said taking a step closer to Sakura. Before Sakura knew it, Sasuke had place two hands on both sides of her as he stared at her. Sakura blushed from the closeness. Unknown to them, a pair of blue eyes widened at the scene and walked away. If he had stayed longer, he would have seen Sakura gently push Sasuke away from her.

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**Taa-daa, how was that? Do I sense a NaruSakuSasu coming? Haha I hope you guys enjoyed it. And two chapters? Am I awesome or what? Haha, I expect a lot of reviews for this two-chapters special. I hoped you guys enjoyed your Christmas. **

**-Kumiko**


	16. Chapter 16

**Are you guys enjoying this story? I haven't really been getting that much reviews recently. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel like this story isn't good like my other stories. Anyways, with this chapter, we might find out a few things about what really happened at Akatsuki's base when Sakura was caught by Itachi in his room.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Where are you taking me Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke said nothing as he continued to walk ahead of Sakura. Sakura frowned but continued to follow him._

_Sasuke finally stopped at the end the hallway. Slowly opening the door, he gestured Sakura to enter. Sakura's mouth dropped to see a piano in the center of the room._

"_S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura didn't know what to say as she went closer to the piano._

"_You used to play piano a lot when we were younger…" Sasuke muttered. Sakura looked at him with a shocked look. Was Sasuke trying to apologies to her?_

"_It's your Christmas gift." Sasuke said taking a step closer to Sakura. Before Sakura knew it, Sasuke had place two hands on both sides of her as he stared at her. Sakura blushed from the closeness. Unknown to them, a pair of blue eyes widened at the scene and walked away. If he had stayed longer, he would have seen Sakura gently push Sasuke away from her._

**XxXxXxX**

It was Christmas morning. The party had ended sometime around two. Everyone had helped clean up the place before they left. Kakashi and Yamato were dealing with a hangover. Karin and Sakura were making breakfast as the boys were waiting at the table. Sai was quietly drawing the scene in front of him. Suigetsu and Juugo were talking loudly about the awesome party last night, unaware that there was trouble brewing right next to them. Blue eyes glared at onyx ones, frowns going along with it. Sai didn't know what happened to cause Naruto and Sasuke to be like this, but he found out the answer a few minutes later.

"I made blueberry pancakes? Anyone wants some?" Sakura asked as she set the pancakes on the table.

"I do!" Naruto and Sasuke said quickly as they stabbed their forks at the poor pancakes. Sakura sat between them, feeling awkward. She couldn't wait until breakfast was over. She can soon play with the new piano that Sasuke had gotten her. She still felt awkward being around him. He had tried to kiss her last night.

Stealing a glance at him, she felt her heart hurt. She soon looked at Naruto as her heart began to beat fast. She could feel the blood rush to her face.

"Hey Sakura-san, do you have a fever?" Juugo asked as he was behind her touching her forehead.

"N-No, I'm fine" She said with a smile. Juugo stared at her for a few seconds before nodding.

"What a party!" A voice said as Kakashi and Yamato came downstairs.

Sakura immediately got up to greet them. "Good morning, how are your hangovers?"

"It went away" Kakashi said with a smile. "We're fine"

Yamato nodded as he ruffled her pink hair. Sakura soon went to her room as she lay down on her bed. What was wrong with her? She was in love with Sasuke, but felt something towards Naruto. She hated this! It was too confusing. Frustrated she threw one of her hard stuff animals at her dresser. Looking over to it, she noticed that one of her dresser doors was opened.

Walking up to it, she opened the door further to see a bloody bag.

"Blood?" Sakura was surprised such a thing was in her room. Why didn't she notice it before? Taking it out, she opened it to reveal scrolls. Curious, she opened one of them.

**Uchiha Secrets:**

**Thou must prepare oneself for the final battle. He needs an Uchiha body to live forever. He is the one that can control the Kyuubi and can get the power he desires. **

**He hides behind fake bodies. To defeat him, one must be of royal Uchiha blood. One must have obtained the highest level of the Sharingan. That will not be enough though. One needs the power of the Kyuubi to defeat him…**

**To defeat Mandara Uchiha…**

Sakura dropped the scrolls as she clutched her forehead. Something had appeared in her mind. A tall man with red eyes. Red clouds. A cell. Blood.

Sakura shook her head as she opened the next scroll.

**Uchiha Secrets:**

**Obtaining the Power of the Kyuubi means total domination. There is only two ways in stopping this madness.**

**Unseal the Kyuubi from its container and sealing it into the box.**

**Going one-on-one against Mandara**

Sakura closed the scroll as she tried to absorb all the things she just discovered. Looking into the bag, there was a box and one more scroll. The box must have been the one spoken from the last scroll. Holding the box, a memory came to her.

"_I want you to go into a certain room. There's a black and red drawer in there that holds scrolls. But there's a small box inside, and I want it."_

"_What's so important about a box" Sakura asked._

"_There's a rumor going around that it has information about your demon friend"_

Sakura dropped the box as she tried to stop this pain she felt.

"Arg!" Sakura gripped the wall as she tried to get her balance. Everything in her room began to swirl into this dark room. It seemed familiar. Sakura looked down at her hands to see herself holding the box from her bag. She felt hands go over hers as she felt her blood turn cold. Slowly turning her head up, she saw red eyes.

"I-Itachi Uchiha…" Sakura felt herself whisper. She felt a familiar shiver go down her spine. Why did all this seem so familiar?

"What are you doing in my room?" The person behind her asked. She soon felt herself go unconscious.

"Sakura!" Sakura watched everything turn back into her room. Sweat rolled down her forehead as she tried to get her heartbeat under control.

"K-Kaka-sensei!" Sakura cried out as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Kakashi squatted down as he checked on her. He didn't know what happen, but it seemed that she was frightened by something.

"Hang on, let me get your some water" Kakashi said as he left the room. Sakura immediately took the chance to hide the scrolls and put them back in the drawer. She heard footsteps coming back to her room. Her eyes widened when she saw the box still in the room. She quickly pushed it under her bed.

"Here you go" Kakashi said as he held Sakura on her bed.

"Thank you" Sakura said as she drank.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Kakashi asked. He watched Sakura shake her head. Her face was still red.

"You still have a fever" Kakashi said when placing a hand on her forehead. "Look, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened?"

Sakura sighed. "I-I…the room felt like it was changing. I found myself in a dark room. There was someone behind me…"

"Who was behind you?" Kakashi glanced at her cup to see it shaking.

"I-Itachi…Uchiha…" Sakura muttered. Kakashi's eyes widened at the name as he grabbed her shoulders firmly.

"What did he do to you?" Kakashi asked. Sakura's eyes widened at his actions. Sakura closed her eyes.

"What did he do?!" Kakashi said in a louder voice.

"I…"

"Sakura!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Sakura screamed as she ran out of the room. She ran down to the living room to see Sai drawing, Juugo resting on the couch, and Karin and Suigetsu arguing. Naruto and Sasuke must have gone somewhere with Yamato. She immediately ran out of the house.

"Sakura?" Karin called out as she ran out of the house as well. "Sakura, where are you going?" It was too late. Sakura was already out of view.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura held onto the chains of the swing. She had found herself at the park. Taking deep breaths, she watched her breath show in front of her. Looking around she saw a playhouse as she went inside. She soon went through her thoughts.

She shouldn't have yelled at Kakashi. He was only trying to help. She slowly wiped her tears away. Crossing her arms on the table, she put her head down and silently cried.

"Sakura?" A voice called out. Looking out, Sakura saw the girl from the party. Tenten was her name, she thought.

"T-Tenten?" Sakura said. Tenten nodded as she went up to her.

"What happened? Your eyes are red" Tenten said as she led Sakura out of the play house. Tenten frowned when Sakura didn't say anything.

"It's cold here and you don't have that much layers on you. You could get sick" Tenten said as she grabbed Sakura's hand. "Say, why not come to my house for the day. I can make tea for us"

Sakura nodded as she let Tenten led her to her house.

Entering the house, Tenten rushed Sakura in. "I don't know how long you've been outside, so you have to take a hot bath. It will make you feel better" Tenten said with a smile.

Sakura nodded as Tenten take her to the bathroom. Just start the water and I'll get your towel and clothes prepared."

"Thank you…" Sakura said as Tenten left her in the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, Sakura began to strip her clothes as she entered the bath and waited as it was almost filled to the top. There was soon knocking on the door.

"Can I come in?" Tenten's voice was heard.

"Y-Yes" Sakura said as Tenten entered the bathroom with a towel and clothes.

"I tried finding clothes that was your size, and this is the closest I could find." Tenten said with a smile. She observed Sakura to see her eyes were still red from crying. Sitting down next to the bathtub, she rested her back against it as she sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tenten asked.

Sakura looked up at the older girl as she nodded. "I-I got mad at Kaka-sensei. B-but he was only worried about me." Tenten heard the water in the tub shift as Sakura had wrapped her arms around her legs and put her head down. "I hate myself…"

"What was he worried about?" Tenten asked. Sakura was silent as Tenten turned around to see Sakura raising a hand to her eye, the eye she had been blinded in a few months ago.

"Sakura?" Tenten said her named worriedly.

"I felt my room change into this dark place. Someone was with me. There was this box with scrolls. I made the guy angry at me. I made Itachi lose it when I found the box." Sakura said. Tenten's eyes widened at the new information she had learned. "Soon I found myself back in the room with Kakas-sensei. I got scared to tell him what I saw, so I ran away. He's probably angry at me."

Tenten smiled sadly as she patted Sakura's head. "I don't think he's angry at you. Just worried that's all. You just need to apologize to him."

Sakura nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Soon Sakura's eyes widened.

"_You're so weak. Even Naruto is better than you" Sasuke said with ease as he walked away. Sakura put her head down in shame as she began to walk the other way._

"_Hey Teme! Why did you say that for?" Naruto asked loudly._

"_Hn. Because it's true" Sasuke said. _

_Sakura clenched her fist as she ran away._

"_Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out for her._

_Sakura spent hours punching the trees around her. Tears were streaming down her face as she could feel every splinter and cuts. Blood was rolling down her knuckles._

"_Sakura?" A nice voice called out. Sakura stopped her rage when she saw the older genin in Lee's team walking up to her worried. Her chocolate orbs widened when she saw the condition Sakura's hands were in._

"_Why?" Tenten asked._

"_Because I'm weak…" Sakura said with a said laugh._

"_What happened?" Tenten asked as she began to treat Sakura's wounds. Sakura looked away embarrassed that the older girl had caught her like this. _

"_Sasuke-kun called me weak…" Sakura whispered as she tried to hold back a sob. "I can never catch up to my team now…"_

"_Sasuke did?" Tenten asked. Her voice sounded mad. "What kind of team mate would do such a thing? Neji and Lee never say that to me?" Tenten stared at the younger girl in front of her. Has she always been going through this? Looking around, she could see the deep dents the girl had caused._

"_I don't think you're weak. You're pretty strong when you put your mind to it. If you just practice more, you could get as strong as Tsunade-sama! I'll promise you that. I'll even practice with you, Lee would be glad to help you as well" Tenten said with a smile._

_Sakura's eyes widened. "T-Thank you" She said as she hugged her._

"Sakura?" Tenten waved a hand in front of her.

"Tenten-chan, do you think I got as strong at Tsunade-sama?" Sakura said. Tenten's eyes widened as she remembered the promise she made when she first met Sakura in the forest.

"Of course you did" Tenten said as tears streamed down her face. "In fact, I think you surpassed her a long time ago"

**XxXxXxX**

Everyone was in the living room waiting for Sakura's arrival. Tenten had called Sasuke a while ago, telling them that she was with Sakura and will be dropping her back off in a couple minutes.

The doorbell rang as Kakashi opened the door. In front of him was Tenten smiling with Sakura shyly behind her.

"Sakura…" Kakashi said as he let out a sigh of relief. He soon found himself hugged by Sakura. He could feel his shirt getting wet.

"I'm sorry Kaka-sensei" Sakura said. Kakashi just smiled as he just hugged her tight. Tenten just smiled at the scene as she waved goodbye.

"T-Tenten-chan!" Sakura called out. Tenten stopped in her footsteps as she turned around.

"Yeah?" Tenten looked at her.

"Would you like to hang out tomorrow? Maybe with Ino-chan, Hinata-san, and Karin-san?" Sakura asked.

"I'd love to" Tenten grinned. "See you tomorrow"

Tenten continued to head down the road as she smiled. It had been a few months since Sakura had called her that. She was glad that Sakura was making a good recovery. She couldn't wait for tomorrow. It would be like the good old days.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura was playing the piano as the music echoed through the house. Sasuke had gone outside to train with Kakashi. Sasuke knew the battle was coming in a couple days. He would be ready. He will get his revenge. Sai was drawing in the living room. Naruto was resting on the couch listening to Sakura play. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo had gone back to their apartment.

"Hey Naruto-kun…" Sai called his name out.

"What?" Naruto questioned.

"How do you feel about Sakura?" Sai asked.

Naruto's cheeks turned pink. "W-What is with this a-all of a sudden?"

"I'm wondering because it seems like that traitor is starting to like Ugly as well" Sai said as he had stopped drawing. He looked up to see Naruto staring at the ceiling. His eyes were hard.

"Well that's good then." Naruto said in a monotone voice. "Sakura has always been in love with Teme since we were little. It's about time Sasuke realized his feelings for her." Naruto soon got up as his hands went into a fist. "I hope they get a happy ending together." He soon put on a jacket as he was about to head outside but stopped when he heard Sai chuckle.

"You really are an idiot, Naruto-kun…" Sai muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Naruto said as he turned around.

"I just said, you're still dickless" Sai said with a sad smile. The door slammed hard as Naruto made his departure.

"Sai?" Sai turned around to see Sakura looking at him worriedly. "What was that just now?"

"Nothing to worry about" Sai said.

"Where's Naruto-san?" Sakura asked entering the living room.

"He went out to train. He and the others will be back soon." Sai said with a fake smile. "Don't worry Ugly"

Sakura's eye twitched as she hit him in the head. "Didn't we talk about this before? When was the last time we talked liked this?"

Sai's eyes widened as it got silent. Sakura looked at him. "Sai?"

"The last time we talked like this was…" _'Before that mission…when all of this started…'_

Sai was soon pulled out of his thoughts when the door opened.

"We're home" Kakashi said as he and Sasuke had entered the house. Sakura looked at the clock to see it was close to five.

"Oh no! I didn't prepare dinner!" Sakura immediately ran into the kitchen.

None of the boys went after her as Sai had picked up his pen and book. "What's going on?" he asked in a suspicious voice.

"Akatsuki are going to be attacking a couple days…" Kakashi said.

"What?!" Sai said surprised. "Didn't they attack us like a month ago?"

"Hn. The battle is finally coming. I will get revenge on what he did to my family." Sasuke said.

Kakashi looked to the kitchen to see Sakura preparing dinner happily. "What of Sakura? What is she to you?"

Sasuke didn't look at him as he began to walk. "I'll be in my room. Call me later for dinner"

"Why are Akatsuki attacking us once again?" Sai asked. "They already know that we'd highly guard Naruto-kun. So why try again?"

"Naruto isn't the only reason why they're coming here…" Kakashi said as he looked towards the kitchen. Sai followed his eyes to see Kakashi staring at Sakura worriedly, like an older brother or father would.

"No…" Sai whispered.

"Don't say anything to anyone yet. Only me, Sasuke, Yamato, Jiraiya, Tsunade-sama, and Shizune knows what Akatsuki's true targets are." Kakashi said, his hair brushing through his silver hair.

"What are we going to do?" Sai asked.

"Don't worry about. Just leave it up to the grownups okay?" Kakashi said ruffling Sai's hair.

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**What will the adults do to protect Naruto and Sakura from the clutches of Akatsuki? How's everyone doing? My finals are finally over and I'm now able to updated quicker I hope. Please review everyone :]**

**-Kumiko**


	17. Chapter 17

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Why are Akatsuki attacking us once again?" Sai asked. "They already know that we'd highly guard Naruto-kun. So why try again?"_

"_Naruto isn't the only reason why they're coming here…" Kakashi said as he looked towards the kitchen. Sai followed his eyes to see Kakashi staring at Sakura worriedly, like an older brother or father would._

"_No…" Sai whispered. _

"_Don't say anything to anyone yet. Only me, Sasuke, Yamato, Jiraiya, Tsunade-sama, and Shizune knows what Akatsuki's true targets are." Kakashi said, his hair brushing through his silver hair._

"_What are we going to do?" Sai asked. _

"_Don't worry about. Just leave it up to the grownups okay?" Kakashi said ruffling Sai's hair._

**XxXxXxX**

**PUNCH!**

"_Hey Naruto-kun…" Sai called his name out._

"_What?" Naruto questioned._

"_How do you feel about Sakura?" Sai asked._

**PUNCH!**

_Naruto's cheeks turned pink. "W-What is with this a-all of a sudden?" _

"_I'm wondering because it seems like that traitor is starting to like Ugly as well"_

**BAM**

Naruto watched as most of tree he was punching fell to the ground. Naruto went to catch his breath as he looked down at his knuckles. They were bleeding with splinters.

"Damn it" Naruto said as he slid down to the ground with his back against the remaining part of the tree. It was almost dinner time. Looking up at the sky he could see the starts in the sky.

A few memories of the old Sakura went through his mind as he brought his knees to his face and wrapped his arms around them.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. "I love you…"

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura had prepared the food and set them at the table.

"This looks delicious Sakura" Kakashi commented. "It's been a while since I've had your cooking. Usually Karin and Suigetsu would be making dinner for us."

"Thanks Kaka-sensei" Sakura smiled. Sai and Yamato had arrived a few minutes later with Sasuke slowly behind them.

"Where's Naruto-san?" Sakura asked.

"The dobe is still probably out training" Sasuke said.

"I'm here" Naruto entered the kitchen. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw his hands.

"Naruto-san! What happened to your hands?" She asked worriedly as she gently held his hands.

"It's okay. I'll heal quickly" Naruto said. Sakura frowned.

"This could get infected. Come with me, I'll treat them. You guys can go ahead and eat" Sakura said with a smile as she led Naruto to her room.

Naruto sat on her bed as Sakura had gone to get the first aid kit. Looking around, he saw an old picture of Team Seven. Sakura looked exactly like she did back in the days with her long hair and all. He missed those days, when everyone was so happy and carefree. But those days were ruined when Orochimaru and Akatsuki became involved in their lives. It was their fault that Sasuke had abandoned this team. It was their fault that Sakura ended up like this. In just a few days, they were going to come and when they do, he'll be ready to get his revenge.

Sakura soon came into the room with a smile.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan. You had to skip dinner because of me." Naruto said starting a conversation. Sakura smiled as she shook her head.

"It-'s okay. I'll just eat dinner with you later, since you didn't eat either" Sakura soon blushed as she put her head down embarrassed. Naruto blushed too but didn't say anything. Sakura soon took a tweezers in her hand as she gently started to pull the splinters from his hands. Naruto was just watched Sakura in silence as she was concentrating on her work. He soon just smiled.

"What?" Sakura asked noticing him smile.

"It's nothing." Naruto said.

"It is something, if you just smiled out of nowhere. That's kind of weird, don't you think?" Sakura asked.

"What if I said that spending time with you like this made me smile?" Naruto asked as he got closer to Sakura's face which had turned a dark pink.

"T-That's…" Sakura began to stutter. Soon green light appeared between them as they looked at Sakura's hands.

"What is this?" Sakura asked out loud as she saw Naruto's hands heal in a minute or two.

"That's your healing power. You probably forgot but you have the ability to heal, use medical jutsu, destroy things with a finger, and other stuff" Kakashi said as he was leaning against the doorframe.

"Kaka-sensei!" Sakura and Naruto said together.

"Naruto, how dare you try to take advantage of Sakura, being here in her room alone" Kakashi said with a smile.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whined turning red.

"Just kidding" Kakashi ruffled Naruto's hair. "You two were taking too long, so I decided to come and check on you two. Anyways, the others and I are done eating. The Hokage had called us up for a meeting. Naruto, you take care of Sakura while we're gone, okay?"

"Okay" Naruto said.

"Be good you two" With that, Kakashi left them alone.

"Hey Naruto-san? Do you think you can teach me how to fight?" Sakura asked as the two were heading to the kitchen.

"Teach you how to fight?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura nodded. "I heard that Akatsuki are coming here to attack Konoha. They're after our secret thing in the village"

"Who told you that?" Naruto asked.

"Tsunade-sama" Sakura said. "She said they're after this cute fox in the village. So we have to protect it with all out power. I also heard from Kaka-sensei that I was really strong before the accident. So I want to help protect the fox too."

"Nice way of hiding it Baa-chan…" Naruto muttered. "Um, sure. I'll train with you after dinner"

**XxXxXxX**

"Okay, focus your charka to your fist." Sakuras watched as her hand had a blue glow around it.

"Good. Now I want you to hit the ground with your fist" Naruto said.

"Are you sure? I don't think I'd be able to do it" Sakura said.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan! You used to hit me and Sai with a lot of force before" Naruto said with a smile. Sakura smiled back as she took a deep breath.

"Here goes nothing" Sakura said as she punched the ground. When she did, nothing happened.

"That's weird…" Naruto said. Before he could take a step, an area in the forest had exploded.

Sakura's mouth had dropped, not believing what happened.

"Sakura-chan! You did it!" Naruto said lifting Sakura up in the air and spun her around.

"N-Naruto-san!" Sakura said his name through her laughter. "Thank you"

Naruto watched as Sakura rested her head on his shoulders. "Tired?" Naruto asked. He felt her nodded her head. Naruto just smiled as he lifted her on his back and head back to Sasuke's house.

**XxXxXxX**

"You wanted to see us Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked as he and the others had arrived into her office. Looking around, Kakashi could see Shikamaru, Kurenai, Gai, Jiraiya, Anko, Ibiki, and elders, Homura and Koharu.

"As you guys already know, Akatsuki is planning to attack us in a few days. We have to be ready." Koharu said as she laced her fingers under her chin.

"What we have to worry about it the Kyuubi holder." Homura said in a tone that ticked off some of the people.

"Naruto" Sasuke said. Kakashi and Tsunade looked over to Sasuke to see him glaring at the elders.

"What was that, boy?" Homura asked as he pushed up his glasses at the bridge of his nose.

"I said his name is Naruto, not Kyuubi holder" Sasuke said in a pissed off tone as he grabbed the collar of Homura's shirt.

"You dare try to hurt an elder of Konoha?" Koharu said as she stood up. "You're just like your brother. Don't think we forgive you for your actions towards Konoha."

Sasuke let Homura go as he fell to his knees. Sasuke growled as he left the room.

"Seriously, that boy. Itachi acted the same way that night when we asked him to kill his family" Homura said as he brushed himself.

Everyone in the room gasped at the new information.

"You mean you were the ones that sent Itachi to kill the entire Uchiha clan?" Anko asked as she dropped her dango on the ground.

"Of course. They were planning to take over Konoha with Danzou. We couldn't let them do that." Koharu said.

"You knew all this time!" Tsunade said, pissed off. "Why did you keep this to yourselves? Why didn't you tell Sasuke the real reason why his family was killed? Why I ought to…" Jiraiya and Kakashi had to hold Tsunade down.

"I believe Itachi and Sasuke will have their final battle. Everything will probably be explained by then. In the meantime, we have to worry about how to keep your students from Akatsuki" Homura said looking at Kakashi.

"The elders are right" Shikamaru said. "We have to protect Naruto and Sakura. I know what to do. But I need your cooperation" Shikamaru looked over at Team 7. "Kakashi, I'll explain what you have to do. And in turn, you need to explain it to Sasuke. It will be both of your jobs to get this done right"

**XxXxXxX**

**Three days later…**

"Hinata-sama. Hinata-sama, time to get up. It's your birthday" A maid said as Hinata opened her lavender eyes.

"My birthday…" Hinata muttered as she got up to stretch.

"Yes Hinata-sama. All you need to do today is get ready for your party, relax, and have fun" the maid said with a smile. Hinata smiled back. Today was the 28th. It was time to put her NaruSaku plan into action.

"I understand. If you guys need any help get the party ready, come and ask me" Hinata said as she got up to take a shower.

"I will" Hinata watched as the maid left the room. It was time to call the girls. They planned the NaruSaku thing two days ago, when all the girls went out to hang out.

**Flashback**

_Hinata, Ino, and Tenten were waiting at a café as they saw Sakura coming into the café with another girl. Ino noticed it was the girl that she fought when she went with Team 7 to retrieve Sasuke. Karin seemed to notice it too, but didn't say anything._

"_Hey everyone. I'm not sure if you guys were introduced properly to each other…" Sakura began to say._

"_Oh, we were introduced properly alright" Ino and Karin said at the same time. Everyone looked at the two weirdly._

"_Well, everyone, this is Karin-chan" Sakura said. "Karin, the blond haired is Ino-chan, the shy one is Hinata-chan, and the last one is Tenten-chan"_

"_Nice to meet you" Tenten said as she stuck out her hand. "I saw you at the Christmas party. You're a good cook"_

"_Thanks" Karin said as she shook her hand._

"_Um…will you come to my birthday party" Hinata said as she handed out an invitation to Karin. "Y-you can bring your two friends along as well"_

_Karin looked at her before she nodded. "I'll come"_

"_Sakura" A voice called out. The girls looked around to see Neji and Shikamaru entering the café. Sakura soon ran up to them. Hinata soon took the chance to go and talk to the girls._

"_We have a major issue right now" Hinata said._

"_What's wrong?" Ino asked._

"_You guys probably know about Sakura-chan's feelings for Naruto-kun, right?"Hinata asked._

"_Yeah, what about it?" Tenten asked._

"_She likes Naruto?" Karin was surprised. She thought Sakura liked Sasuke._

"_Not like…" Ino said with a smile. "She's in love"_

"_But she forgot after that incident. Then here's the problem…" Hinata began to say._

"_Sakura thinks she's in love with Sasuke instead" Karin finished it off for her._

"_H-How did you know?" Hinata asked._

"_I figured. Since Sakura is staying at Sasuke-kun's house for two months, it was most likely that she remembered her old feelings for Sasuke."Ino said. Karin nodded her head in agreement._

"_What do you suppose we do?" Tenten asked._

"_My birthday" Hinata said. "We can use it as a chance to help Sakura remember her feelings for Naruto-kun, without making her remember too much" _

"_What do you mean?" Karin asked. "Isn't it best if we make her remember everything about Naruto?"_

"_We can't!" Hinata almost yelled. __**Or else she would get closer to death!**__ Everyone in the café looked at her, especially Sakura, Neji, and Shikamaru. Hinata just smiled so they thought nothing of it. "I-I think if she remembers too much, it wouldn't be good for her. So let's just do everything we can to put Sakura together with Naruto."_

**End of flashback.**

Hinata sighed. "Please let everything go correct tonight"

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura looked up at the Hyuga compound. It was lit beautifully as people were entering the place.

"Let's go" Karin said. Sakura nodded as she linked her arm with hers. Sakura let Karin lead her inside the party as Sakura's eyes' widened. The party was absolutely beautiful. The scenery was perfect.

"There's Hinata-chan!" Sakura pointed at a young lady walking up at the platform.

"Phew, and here I thought we were going to be late" Karin said.

"H-Hello everyone. Thank you for coming to my birthday. It really means a lot. All I want is for everyone to have fun tonight" Hinata said with a shy smile. Everyone cheered as they raised their drinks in the air.

The night went by fast as it was almost 11. Everyone was dancing, eating, chatting, playing games, walking around, drunk, or just knocked out. Hinata a bit red in the face with Kiba by her side, went to the mic and she tapped on it a few times.

"Hey everyone, it's only an hour until 12! So let's end it with a snowball!" Hinata said.

"Ph-Phirst ferson to go up is inata and doggy boy!" Ino said grabbing the mic. Clearly, she was drunk.

Shikamaru sighed as he came to his girlfriend's side. "Next up, Neji and Tenten." Shikamaru said. Soon people's names were being called in pairs. "Suigetsu and Karin"

Karin who was trying to talk to Sasuke, gasped as her name was called.

"WHAT!" Karin said as she blushed.

"Just go" Sasuke said pushing Karin. "Sakura put your name down, so I put Suigetsu's"

A couple more names were called, when the music changed to "Hanging by a Moment" by life house. "The last pair to dance alone for tonight is……Naruto and Sakura"

Sakura gasped as she turned pink. She was sitting next to Kakashi, Sai, and Yamato who were telling her to go. Sakura gulped as she nervously entered the circle the guests made. Standing in the circle already was Naruto smiling at her. Sakura could feel her heart beat fast again as she made her way up to Naruto. Naruto could feel everyone's eyes on them, but all he could do was look at Sakura.

"Ready to dance, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked gently as he stuck out his hand. Sakura looked deep into his blue eyes before nodding. Naruto took her hand and began to move to the music as Sakura put a hand to his shoulder. In return, Naruto put a hand on her waist.

Sakura felt like Naruto and she were the only two people in the room right now. It seemed…perfect. She couldn't describe what she was feeling right now. It was such a great feeling. Sakura mentally shook her head. She shouldn't be having thoughts about Naruto. She was in love with Sasuke, wasn't she? Then why did she felt like everything was right.

'**Because you don't love Sasuke. You're in love with Naruto'**

'It's you again' Sakura said. 'I must be going crazy'

'**You are not going crazy. I'm another part of you! We've been together through thick and thin! HOW CAN YOU NOT REMEMBER!'**

'S-sorry. It's just weird hearing another voice in my head'

'**Haha! That's what you said the first time I appeared. Anyways you're not in love with Sasuke. You may have been in the past, but things are different now. You have fallen in love with Naruto Uzumaki….'**

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he brought his face closer to hers. Sakura could feel her heart beating faster as she quickly shook her head. Sakura slowly glanced up at Naruto as she smiled. Naruto felt really warm.

**XxXxXxX**

It was the 30th of December as Karin, Juugo, and Suigetsu had come over for dinner. As the three was preparing dinner, Team Seven was scattered around the house. Naruto was chilling in the living room with Yamato as they were listening to Sakura play the piano. Yamato had looked up to see Kakashi coming towards Naruto. So it was time….

"Naruto…" Kakashi called out. Naruto looked to see Kakashi with a serious face on.

"Kakashi-sensei? What's up?" Naruto asked as he came up to his sensei.

"Let's train outside!" Kakashi said with a smile. Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit. He could tell that the smile was a fake. He had seen many on Sakura's face before.

"Sure" Naruto said wearily. Kakashi looked over to Yamato to see him nodding his head. Kakashi nodded back as he led Naruto to the forest nearby.

"Okay Kakashi-sensei, how do you want me to train?" Naruto asked. When he turned around Kakashi was gone. Naruto quickly put his guard up. Where was Kakashi?

Before Naruto knew it, he felt pressure on the back of his neck. As his vision blurred, he could see a sad look on Kakashi's face. He had appeared in front of him to catch him.

"I'm sorry Naruto. But it's for you and Sakura's protection." Kakashi said as he had left Naruto in his arms and took off with him.

**XxXxXxX**

Sai smiled as he was listening to Sakura playing the piano Sasuke had gotten her for Christmas. It was like a routine for them. She'd play the piano at least twice a day as he would either be painting or drawing in the same room. Her playing inspired him when he was drawing. Today he was sitting drawing on his drawing pad. Sakura was playing some songs that Kakashi had found for her to play. She used to play it before the incident.

Sai looked up from his drawing to see Sasuke coming into the room. So it was time...

"Sakura…" Sasuke called Sakura out as she had stopped playing. She turned around and stared at Sasuke weirdly.

"Yes?" She asked as she turned around on the bench.

"Come outside with me, will you? We need to talk" Sasuke said. Sakura didn't like the atmosphere that suddenly appeared in the room. Sakura quickly turned to Sai to see him smiling.

"Go ahead Ugly. I'll be fine here" Sai said. Sakura glared at him.

"I'll see you later than jerk" Sakura said teasingly as she went out of the room with Sasuke following her. He stopped half way and turned to see Sai looking at him.

"Don't do anything to harsh to her" Sai said.

"You know I have to do this. You're the only person I told the situation to." Sasuke said.

"I know..." Sai said in a sad tone.

Sakura and Sasuke had walked out of the house and into the village as they walked around. Sasuke had chosen an area with less people around. Sakura looked around confused.

"There is something we need to talk about." Sasuke said.

"Actually Sasuke-kun, I-I need to tell you something too" Sakura said. Sasuke was puzzled now.

"I…I-I love you Sasuke-kun!" Sakura confessed. Sasuke had a dark look on his face.

He began to walk up to Sakura as he pulled her into a hug. She was shocked.

"You're not in love with me" Sasuke answered back. Sakura's eyes widened. "You already know that Akatsuki are coming to get Naruto."

"Akatsuki…?" Sakura repeated.

"They are the ones that hurt you on that mission with Shikamaru and the others. My brother is the one that hurt you" Sasuke said as he clenched his fist.

"Itachi…Uchiha…" Sakura said. Sasuke looked down at Sakura to see she had a dazed look on.

'_Do you know why I killed my family, Kunoichi? It's because the Third Hokage, well more like the elders, ordered me to. My family was planning to take over Konoha with Danzou. I left Sasuke to live because I love him. I was saddened by the fact that I killed my family. So I wanted Sasuke to kill me. It was to atone for my sins I guess. When the final battle comes, I will tell him everything. Please, if you ever had the chance, don't tell him'_

"That's why I can't love you. There will be a final battle between my brother and me. One of us will die. I have to get my revenge and you know that" Sasuke said. Sakura began to cry as she touched Sasuke's face to make him look at her. He couldn't.

"You don't want to do this" Sakura said. "Killing you brother will leave you nothing but sadness. Please, I know you love your brother, even still. Itachi has his reasons…"

"I-I want to see him" Sasuke said. "I want to know why he killed everyone but me."

"W-Why is Akatsuki coming after Naruto-san?" Sakura asked.

"Because of something he possesses. In time you will find out. But not only are they coming after Naruto, they're coming after you too. All I do is hurt people, especially you. Don't worry about me anymore. I decided to go on this path. Thank you for everything though." Sasuke said as he kissed Sakura's forehead. "I can't love you. There's someone else you have to love. I'm sorry"

Sakura's eyes widened as she felt pressure on her neck. Sasuke had knocked her out.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said. Her heart was breaking. Sasuke had begun to walk away from her leaving her on the ground.

Blond hair moved in the wind as blue eyes widened. Ino was walking with Shikamaru around town and saw the scene between Sasuke and Sakura. She didn't know what he said to her. But he must have told her something he shouldn't have. She was pissed. Why hadn't he learned his lesson? How dare he leave her like that?

She looked over at Shikamaru to see him walking up to Sakura and picking her up. Shikamaru looked at Ino. "This is for her protection. Don't think anything bad about Sasuke right now. He's trying to protect something special to him" With that said, Shikamaru had vanished with Sakura.

"Shikamaru!" Ino yelled. Ino soon ran to catch up to Sasuke.

Sasuke had felt someone pulled him by the collar.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"How dare you!" Ino said as she tried to slap Sasuke across the face. Sasuke caught her wrist as she glared at him. "How dare you do that to Sakura! What were your reasons of coming back here? To cause her more pain?"

"Yamanaka…" Sasuke said. "This is for her protection"

"That lazy ass said that same thing! What are you guys talking about!" Ino shouted.

"Akatsuki are coming after Naruto and Sakura. This is what we must do to protect them both. I won't let my brother hurt them ever again" Sasuke said. Ino's eyes widened. She didn't expect that.

"W-Why…" Ino said as she began to cry. She fell to her knees as Sasuke was still holding her wrist. "Why are they always trying to kill everyone we love? They already took Asuma-sensei and they almost took Sakura."

"We're going to put them in a secret place; a place where Akatsuki would never think of looking. All the sensei, Shizune, the Hokage, Shikamaru…"

"Shikamaru is in on this? Why wasn't I informed of this?" Ino demanded to know.

"The less people that know the better" Sasuke said as he let go of her wrist. "Just know that I won't let anything happen to Sakura and Naruto." Sasuke soon disappeared.

Ino slowly got up as she wiped her tears. "Neither will I"

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**Woo Hoo! Akatsuki invasion is about to come! I was reading the recent Naruto chapter, and it messed up my plot a bit! RAWR! Well, I'll come up with something. I finally updated. I'm sorry everyone. I've been really busy with school and fantastics. Since its winter break, I have time to update. I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please review everyone.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Rawr! The new manga chapter of Naruto Shippuden ruined my plot for the upcoming chapters. Sigh, everyone is dying in the chapters! It makes me cry! Anyways, let's carry on with the story shall we? Oh yeah, before you read, know that there is spoilers in this chapter. So sorry to the people who haven't caught up with the Naruto manga yet.**

**Last Time on Gomenasai**

"_Akatsuki are coming after Naruto and Sakura. This is what we must do to protect them both. I won't let my brother hurt them ever again" Sasuke said. Ino's eyes widened. She didn't expect that._

"_W-Why…" Ino said as she began to cry. She fell to her knees as Sasuke was still holding her wrist. "Why are they always trying to kill everyone we love? They already took Asuma-sensei and they almost took Sakura."_

"_We're going to put them in a secret place; a place where Akatsuki would never think of looking. All the sensei, Shizune, the Hokage, Shikamaru…"_

"_Shikamaru is in on this? Why wasn't I informed of this?" Ino demanded to know._

"_The less people that know the better" Sasuke said as he let go of her wrist. "Just know that I won't let anything happen to Sakura and Naruto." Sasuke soon disappeared._

_Ino slowly got up as she wiped her tears. "Neither will I" _

**XxXxXxX**

Tsunade stared outside the window in her office. She watched as ninja were moving the civilian to a safe place outside of the village. Shizune looked at her master with a sad look as she held Ton-Ton.

"You don't think we can win this battle?" A voice said. Shizune looked to see Jiraiya at the other window.

"Jiraiya…" Tsunade uttered.

"Relax Tsunade. I won't let Akatsuki get a hold of Naruto or Sakura again. No one in the village will. We will fight to the death for them" Jiraiya said with a sad smile.

"I know. That's what I'm afraid of" Tsunade said.

"Tsunade-sama…" Shizune whispered.

"I don't think we have enough power to win this battle" Tsunade said. "Just this morning, my cup broke. Then just a few hours ago, I won the jackpot"

Jiraiya's eyes widened. If Tsunade had won something, it wasn't looking bright for Konoha.

"I see." Jiraiya said.

"G-Gai's team will be coming back today! Gaara is sending help for us as well, along with the other countries against Akatsuki." Shizune said with a hopeful smile. "We'll win this battle."

"I hope you're right Shizune. I hope you're r-"Tsunade stopped talking as she narrowed her eyes out the window. Tsunade immediately opened her window. "EVERYONE, HURRY AND TAKE THE CITIZENS AWAY FROM THE VILLAGE! THEY'RE HERE!" Tsunade shouted.

A loud explosion was heard at the front gate. Six shadowy figures walked into Konoha. As the smoke went away, Izumo and Kotetsu got a clear view who invaded their village.

"Akatsuki" Izumo growled.

Pein was in front of his group. Behind him were Itachi, Kisame, and Deidara on his right. On his left were Tobi, Zetsu, and Hidan.

"Y-You three" Kotetsu pointed at Deidara, Tobi, and Hidan.

"I thought you two were killed by Naruto and the other was killed by Shikamaru." Izumo said.

"Thanks for reminding me who killed me! Now I can go get my fucking revenge for that bastard leaving me in that hole and burying me alive." Hidan said as he licked his scythe.

"Where is the Kyuubi?" Pein asked.

"I don't know" Izumo said bravely.

"Do you really?" Pein asked. Soon six more people came from outside the gates. All had the same reddish hair, the same eyes, and piercings all over the body.

"Scatter" Pein said. All at once the six new members separated and began to do hand signs. Explosions were created all over Konoha. Izumo and Kotetsu watched as Pein raised his hand at them. Before the two knew it, they were thrown to the nearest building.

"The rest of you" Pein said. "You know what your tasks are. Get them down perfectly."

"Of course" Tobi said. Itachi glanced to his left. It was time for Tobi to show his true self, but first he had to get his final battle over with Sasuke. At that thought, the clouds began to

**XxXxXxXxX**

Kurenai stared outside her bedroom window while trying to calm down her crying son.

"Hush little one…" Kurenai said in a soft voice. A knock was heard as Kurenai looked at the reflection in the mirror as the clouds were becoming heavy and gray.

"Kakashi…Shikamaru…" Kurenai called out.

"We have to get you and Sachi out of here" Shikamaru said.

"They're here, aren't they?" Kurenai said. Kakashi nodded.

"Come one Kurenai. You're still weak from giving birth." Kakashi said as he put his arm around Kurenai to lead her out of the room. "Shikamaru, Hold Sachi for Kurenai" Kakashi ordered. Shikamaru nodded as Kurenai gently placed Sachi in Shikamaru's care.

Kakashi looked behind him to see one of Pein's bodies a couple feet ahead of them ready to blast the area away.

"OUTSIDE THE HOUSE NOW!" Kakashi yelled as Shikamaru immediately understood what was going on. Holding Sachi close to his chest, he jumped out of the window. Kakashi quickly lifted Kurenai in his arms as he too followed after Shikamaru. Right as Kakashi and Kurenai jumped out of the house, it exploded along with the other buildings around the area.

Shikamaru and Kakashi had landed on a roof as they watched Kurenai's house fall.

"We have to get out of the area and bring Kurenai and Sachi out of here"

"Leave it to us!" Aoba said with Yuugao with him. "There are more things you two need to worry about."

"We'll take care of Kurenai, you can count on that Kakashi" Yuugao said as she took off her ANBU mask.

"I know" Kakashi said. "Shikamaru go around and see what's going on the other side of Konoha."

**XxXxXxX**

Sasuke ran around Konoha trying to find his brother. All he could hear was yelling and explosions.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, wait up!" Karin called out from behind him. Suigetsu and Juugo were following suit.

"What are you guys doing following me?" Sasuke asked as he continued to jump from roof to roof.

"We are a team Sasuke-kun! We go where you go" Karin said.

"Besides, it's about time we get to fight!" Suigetsu said. Juugo nodded.

Sasuke smirked. "Alright _Team Hebi_. Let's finish this. Karin can you locate my brother?" Sasuke asked.

Karin's eyes lit up with happiness. Juugo just smiled as Suigetsu laughed. "Give me a couple seconds…and…got him!" Karin said. "He's not that far."

"Good... His partner might be with him. You three are to handle him" Sasuke ordered.

"What about you Sasuke-kun? Wouldn't it be good to have two people per member?" Karin asked.

"This is my battle, no one else's. You will not get involved, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear leader?" Suigetsu said.

"Understood" Juugo said.

"Sasuke-kun…" Karin muttered.

Sasuke soon stopped with his team stopping a few feet away. Itachi and Kisame were standing, waiting for him.

"Hey, Itachi look, it's your little brother" Kisame said as he put his Samehada on his shoulder.

"Itachi!" Sasuke growled.

"Little brother" Itachi said as the two stared each other down. Kisame looked at the others behind Karin.

"Well I'll be! Is that you Suigetsu?" Kisame said as he started to laugh.

Karin looked over to Suigetsu. "You know each other?"

"We're from the same village. When I was younger, I wanted to join the seven swordsmen, but they wouldn't let me." Suigetsu said.

"Is that Zabuza's sword?" Kisame said as he immediately jumped in front of them, ready to attack. Suigetsu noticed that he was about to attack Karin as he quickly pushed her to the side. Karin fell to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?!" Karin shouted. She looked up as her eyes widened. Kisame's sword had cut Suigetsu to ribbons. Juugo charged at Kisame in rage of hurting his friend. Karin just sat there.

"H-He pushed me out of the way to save me…" Karin said to herself. "Suigetsu, SUIGETSU!!!" Karin cried out.

"You called?" Suigetsu asked as he appeared behind her.

"?" Karin looked at the spot dead body was to see it become a puddle of water.

"I won't die that easily" Suigetsu said as he put Karin behind him. "I will get your sword next"

"Like to see you try squirt" Kisame said.

"Suigetsu…" Karin whispered as she blushed. "Thank you" Karin soon looked over to see Juugo controlling himself as Sasuke was about to help him.

"No! I can control myself. Concentrate more on your brother" Juugo told Sasuke. Sasuke nodded as he saw his brother running away.

"Come back here!" Sasuke shouted as he chased after his brother. As he continued to follow, he noticed they were heading onto a familiar route.

Entering the forest, they stopped at a certain area from Sasuke's childhood. It was Itachi's old training area.

"Let's have a little kunai training like you always wanted" Itachi said as he took out three star kunai. Sasuke activated his Sharingan as he glared at his brother.

"Bastard" Sasuke shouted.

**XxXxXxX**

Tsunade walked down the hospital's hallways with Shizune, Ino, and Hinata by her side.

"Ino, your father is waiting for you at the flower shop. He'll tell you what to do. Shizune, you go with her" Tsunade ordered.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama" Shizune said as she left with Ino.

"Hinata, you are to be the next heir or the Hyuga clan. I cannot let anything bad happen to you" Tsunade said.

"Tsunade-sama, please let me help protect Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun! I don't want to be a burden to anyone" Hinata said.

"Very well" Tsunade said. "I'll have someone accompany you at all cost though. You are not to leave this person's side, do you hear me?"

Hinata nodded her head as she saw someone from her family.

"Hinata-sama, let's go"

"Of course" Hinata said as she left.

Tsunade soon moved to the top of the roof as ANBU formed a circle around her to protect her from anything or anyone.

"Tsunade-sama." One of them greeted.

"Cover me" Tsunade bit her thumb as she did a summoning jutsu. A large slug appeared in front of her.

"Lady Tsunade" Katsuyu said.

"Katsuyu, I need you to split up and stay with ninja. Heal them when needed!" Tsunade ordered.  
"But Lady Tsunade, you'll-"

"I know! Just do it!" Tsunade shouted.

"Right away" Katsuyu had split up and moved to find people in need of healing. Tsunade closed her eyes as she could hear the sounds of explosions everywhere.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura's eyes snapped opened to the sounds of explosions. Looking at her surroundings she noticed that she was in a stone area. A few feet away from her was Naruto, unconscious. She immediately went to him.

What was going on? The last thing she remembered was talking to Sasuke…her eyes narrowed. The jerk had knocked her out again! But how did her and Naruto end up in here. Jumping up at the only holes around the place, she got to see that she was inside the heads on the Hokage Mountain. Better yet, they were inside the fourth Hokage's head. Looking outside, she was Konoha slowly being destroyed and people fighting. Akatsuki had invaded her country. They were after her and Naruto. She wasn't stupid. That's why Sasuke had knocked her out. To protect her and Naruto….

Sakura moved to Naruto. "Naruto. Naruto, please wake up" Sakura said as she shook him. Naruto didn't respond. Looking around, she found a kunai holder and scrolls. Sakura soon noticed that Naruto's shirt was raised a bit. She could see markings on his stomach. Curious, she lifted his shirt up more. She found a seal on his stomach. Sakura touched it gently. This thing was causing Naruto suffering and Akatsuki was adding more to that. She was able to remember that much.

Getting up, she put her hair up as she set up a protection barrier on Naruto. Akatsuki wasn't going to hurt anyone. She wasn't going to just sit her being protected. She didn't want to be a burden. She had to do something.

Sakura readied herself as she began to charge at the wall with her fist. She was met with the cold air. Looking around outside, she saw that jumping down was her only way. Taking a deep breath, she leaped.

**XxXxXxX**

Kakashi and Iruka noticed a huge change in chakra in the room Naruto and Sakura was in. They soon heard something being destroyed. Kakashi opened the barrier to see that Naruto was the only one in the room. A couple feet away, the fourth Hokage's ear was destroyed. Sakura had run away.

"Damn it" Kakashi cursed. "Iruka, get Naruto and bring him somewhere else."

"Understood" Iruka said. Kakashi nodded as he jumped off the room to follow after Sakura's tracks.

**XxXxXxX**

Hidan moved around Konoha walking around with his scythe. "Hm, if I were hiding a Jinchiruki and a girl, where would I put them?" He soon saw something pink in the forest.

"Found you" Hidan said as he rushed after.

Sakura turned around to see Hidan staring at her crazy. Sakura immediately took a few steps back from him.

"Akatsuki" Sakura growled as she put her gloves on.

"So, you got your memories back. That's not good" Hidan said.

"Why are you after me?" Sakura asked. She really was curious to know.

"The leader is afraid that you'll remember everything and end up remembering what you read in the scrolls." Hidan said. "Now die!"

Sakura quickly jumped out of the way as Hidan's scythe hit the ground. Hidan smirked as his scythe went through a part of Sakura's shirt making her difficult for her to move.

"I was expecting a lot more from the Hokage's apprentice" Hidan commented as he took out his knife. "But at least I get to do my fucking ritual. Say goodbye bitch!"

Sakura closed her eyes shut waiting for the impact, but it never came.

"Shadow jutsu, success!"

Sakura opened her eyes to see Shikamaru standing behind Hidan. Hidan could not move.

"S-Shikamaru!" Sakura said. Shikamaru smirked as he moved back. Hidan moved back as well.

"You again!" Hidan growled. "Bastard, I was about to do my ritual!"

"I won't let you do a ritual ever again" Shikamaru said. As he remembered this was the man who killed Asuma.

"Ino, Chouji, now!" Chouji came rolling in as he hit Hidan. Ino quickly went to Sakura as she removed the scythe from her. "Sakura, you have to get out of here now! Other members are looking for you. If you can, run out of the village."

"I'm not going to run away" Sakura said.

"Sakura, it's for your own good! Now go, run!" Ino said as she pushed Sakura.

Sakura stared at Ino's team fighting for her. "Thank you" Sakura said as she ran.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura kept running through the forest. She was scared for her life. All she could hear was explosions, yelling, and fighting. Sakura fell to her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"S-Someone, help me please…" Sakura said as she began to cry.

"Sakura!" A voice called out for her. Sakura looked up to see Sai coming from the forest. "I found you"

"S-Sai!" Sakura said as she went up to him and hugged him tightly.

"It's okay, I have you now" Sakura's blood turned cold as Sai stabbed her in the stomach. Sakura slowly took a step back as she looked at her hands. It was covered in blood. Sakura quickly jumped away as she held her wound.

Sai slowly turned back into his original form. Deidara smirked. "You fell for this jutsu twice in a row. This time, I will not let you escape me"

Deidara went to strike her, but before he could hit her, something swooped down from the sky and kicked him in the face.

"What the hell!" Deidara said as he wiped the blood coming from his mouth.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Sai said as he moved Sakura behind him. Sai pulled out a scroll as he began to draw a bird. It soon came out.

"Oh no you don't!" Deidara shouted as he formed a clay bird. It got bigger.

Sai quickly grabbed Sakura and jumped on the bird as it flew up in the sky. Deidara had done the same and was now on a chase.

Deidara was throwing clay bombs everywhere. Sakura had to hold on tight to Sai so she wouldn't fall off.

"Sakura, take out the scroll on my left pocket" Sai ordered.

"What?" Sakura questioned.

"Hurry!" Sai said. Sakura did what she was told as he grabbed the scroll and began to draw another bird. "Sakura, hang on to this bird. It's dangerous for me to fight with you next to me."

"Sai…." Sakura uttered as Sai jumped onto the other bird. Sai just gave her a smile.

"I'll be fine, Ugly" Sai said. Sakura just stared at Sai as the bird she was on flew higher. She had to watch the battle from up above.

"Smart move, I'll give you that" Deidara commented.

"I'll finish you off for the final time" Sai said.

"That's right, you fought the fake me last time" Deidara said. "Now, let's see who the better artist is shall we?"

"Bring it" Sai said. He quickly began to draw beast like drawings as it came to life.

Deidara's eyes widened as 10 of them came at him at once.

"Shit" Deidara cursed as two of them were able to hit him when he flew upwards. Sai quickly followed suit.

Deidara continued to go up as he passed by Sakura. Their eyes met blue to green. Sakura glared at him as she threw a kunai at him. Deidara was surprised as he got hit in the stomach. Glaring down, he could see Sakura taking out his weapons. He was going to just get her and bring her to Pein as soon as possible. Sai seemed to notice his motive as he zoomed down and appeared in front of her.

"Sakura, get out of here as fast as you can. This bird will fly you away from here. You can't get caught by anyone of Akatsuki, do you hear me? Try to find someone from Konoha or head to Sand. You'll be safe there, not here" Sai said.

"I can't. Let me help you" Sakura said.

"Just go!" Sai said raising his voice. Sakura's eyes widened as she understood. She soon gave Sai the first hug she had ever given him.

"Be safe" Sakura whispered to him.

"You too, ugly. But I shouldn't worry too much; your ugliness will scare them away" Sai joked. Sakura just laughed as the bird began to move out.

"Ready to finish this battle?" Sai asked Deidara who was still up above.

"I'll finish this battle quickly" Deidara said.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Did you get a little taller from last time we met?" Itachi asked.

"You haven't changed, especially those cold merciless eyes" Sasuke said back.

"Aren't you going to scream and charge straight at me like last time?" Itachi asked.

"Hmph. You know nothing about me" Sasuke said. Itachi's eyes widened when Sasuke disappeared in front of him and then reappeared behind him with Chidori in his palms. The shot of lighting struck Itachi in the back as he tried to dodge it. "How much hate has filled and enveloped my heart, how much stronger I've grown because of it…you know nothing."

Sasuke soon took out his sword as Itachi stopped it with a kunai. Itachi did a one handed cartwheel on Sasuke's back as Sasuke tried to cut him. Itachi soon grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt and yanked him to the ground.

Sasuke skid a couple feet as he glared at his older brother. He soon charged at him with his Chidori and sword as the Chidori became bigger. Itachi was taken by surprised as his brother stabbed the sword through his test.

Itachi lay on the ground as he stared up at Sasuke. "You have gotten much stronger"

Sasuke just held the sword. "This is the end Itachi…but before I kill you, I have one last question." Itachi's hand lifted in the air as it pointed to Sasuke's right. Sasuke looked at the direction to see Itachi standing there smirking.

"The end is a long ways off little brother, but I'm willing to listen. What do you want to know?" Itachi asked.

"Have you gone deaf?" Sasuke asked. Itachi's eyes widened as he was stabbed again through the chest. Sasuke was behind him smirking. Itachi looked back at the Sasuke in front of him to see it turn into snakes.

"Gen-justsu…" Itachi uttered.

"I SAID, "this is the end", you murderous traitorous fuck. But before I kill you, I have one last question…" Sasuke said as he remembered the last thing Itachi told him that night his family was killed. Itachi told him to go to the Uchiha's secret meeting place. The true purpose of their eyes and its secrets are recorded there. If he was able to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, then there would be three people who could use it, including Itachi himself. "Now answer me, unless you want to know what real pain is like"

"You avoided striking a fatal blow on purpose" Itachi commented.

'"Who is the third Uchiha survivor? The other Sharingan user that you told me about?" Sasuke asked.

"Why do you want to know about him?" Itachi asked.

"Because he's next on my list after I kill you!"

"You? Kill him?" Itachi asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"On that night you said there was a third person. I realized it could be only someone you didn't kill, which means he helped you wipe off the entire Uchiha clan!" Sasuke watched as Itachi smirked. "Even you couldn't have killed the leaf's entire military police force on your own."

"So you figured it out" Itachi said.

"Who is he?" Sasuke asked.

"Uchiha Mandara" Itachi said. "One of leaf's founding fathers and the first one to ever awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Founding fathers? If that is true, he'd be dead! Don't fuck around with me, Itachi!" Sasuke shouted.

"Mandara is very much alive. It's up to you whether or not you believe me"

"I had enough with your bullshit!" Sasuke said. "I can see right through your genjutsu!" the world around him began to move as he was back to where he was before he fought Itachi. Itachi just stood there watching him.

"So you're ready for me to kick your ass?" Sasuke asked.

"Confidant, aren't we" Itachi said. "Mangekyou has a very unique characteristic…"

"Blindness. It's the price you get for gaining control of the nine-tailed demon fox" Sasuke said.

"It seems like you actually listened to me and read the tablets in the Uchiha's secret meeting place." Itachi said as he walked closer.

"Who is Mandara?!" Sasuke asked.

"A man whose eyes tamed the nine-tails like a pet. He was my accomplice and my teacher. The only person in history to learn the Sharingan's final secret. An invincible immortal. That's who Mandara Uchiha is"

"He learned the final secret? There's more than being able to control the nine-tails?"

"Yes, the last and important piece of the puzzle" Itachi said.

"What is it? Tell me." Sasuke asked. Itachi began to tell his younger brother the story of Mandara.

**(A/N: I'm so lazy to write the story of Mandara. So look it up in chapter 386 of Naruto)**

"Today, Mandara is a pathetic version of himself. I am the only person that can surpass him and achieve true immortality. And now! The time to take my prize and gain a greater power than him has finally come. SASUKE! YOU WILL BECOME MY NEW LIGHT! YOU WERE MY SPARE! FOR DECADES, THE UCHIHA CLAN KILLED THEIR OWN FRIEND TO OBTAIN THE MANGEKYOU…AND KILLED THEIR SIBLINGS TO MAKE ITS POWER PERNAMENT!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as wood held him tight.

"OUR CLAN WAS FOREVER TAINTED BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T STOP FLAUNTING OVER THEIR POWER. YOUR FATE HA BEEN DRENCHED IN BLOOD! SINCE THE DAY YOU WERE BORN A UCHIHA! NOW FACE ME LITTLE BROTHER" Itachi shouted.

The wood began to form a claw as it got closer to Sasuke's eyes. "ONCE I KILL YOU, I'LL BE TRANSFORMED. I'LL BE FREED FROM THIS WRETCHED CLAN'S DESTINY!"

Sasuke began to close his eyes. "YOU AND I ARE EACH OTHER'S SPARE! THAT IS THE BOND BETWEEN ALL UCHIHA BROTHERS!"

Sasuke closed his eyes as he released himself from another genjutsu.

"I take it you saw my true form?" Itachi asked.

"It was all for this moment, huh?" Sasuke asked.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Jiraiya was in the Hokage's room with Tsunade as she stared sadly at Jiraiya.

"I'll be ready in a few minutes." Jiraiya said.

"Why can't I go with you?" Tsunade said.

"Because you are the Hokage of Konoha! You have a job to do. I'll stop Pein by myself. I'll be alright. He was my former student anyways. He's my responsibility." Jiraiya said.

"But…" Tsunade was cut off as Jiraiya laughed.

"Just bet that I won't come back alive." Jiraiya said as he winked at her. "Your bad luck is good for something" The old teammates gave each other a long hug.

"Come back safe okay, I can't lose you too" Tsunade said as she gave him a peck on the forehead.

"Got it. And you, be careful of root. Danzou is working with Akatsuki after all." Jiraiya warned her.

"I know. I have some of my ANBU trying to find him."

"Don't worry; everything will turn out good in the end. Just give it everything you got" Jiraiya said. Tsunade watched as him jump into battle.

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**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy with a lot of things. But I finally updated right? I've never read the Uchiha brothers' battle til now. So I'm learning something new along with the other people who haven't seen the chapter yet. Sorry with all the spoilers, but like I said, the whole new chapters ruined the plot of my story, but I want to make this story close to the manga as much as possible. I hoped all of you guys liked it. Next chapter will probably be more about Sasuke's battle and Jiraiya's. Please review everyone.**


	19. Chapter 19

**IT'S SPRING BREAK!!! What does that mean? More time for me to update my stories. I've been so busy with school, I haven't been able to sit down and type up a chapter. But I finally got this chapter done. Please enjoy it….**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

_Jiraiya was in the Hokage's room with Tsunade as she stared sadly at Jiraiya. _

"_I'll be ready in a few minutes." Jiraiya said._

"_Why can't I go with you?" Tsunade said._

"_Because you are the Hokage of Konoha! You have a job to do. I'll stop Pein by myself. I'll be alright. He was my former student anyways. He's my responsibility." Jiraiya said._

"_But…" Tsunade was cut off as Jiraiya laughed._

"_Just bet that I won't come back alive." Jiraiya said as he winked at her. "Your bad luck is good for something" The old teammates gave each other a long hug. _

"_Come back safe okay, I can't lose you too" Tsunade said as she gave him a peck on the forehead._

"_Got it. And you, be careful of root. Danzou is working with Akatsuki after all." Jiraiya warned her._

"_I know. I have some of my ANBU trying to find him."_

"_Don't worry; everything will turn out good in the end. Just give it everything you got" Jiraiya said. Tsunade watched as him jump into battle._

**XxXxXxX**

Pein watched as Konoha was being destroyed little by little.

"Konan…" Pein whispered as he took out a paper flower.

"Pein, or should I say Nagato?" Jiraiya said as he appeared behind him.

"You…you're still alive?" Pein asked as he crushed the flower in his hand.

"Yes I am."

"Where are the 9-tails and the girl?" Pein asked.

"I understand why you're after Naruto, but why are you after Sakura as well?" Jiraiya asked.

"Since I'll be killing you soon, I guess I can tell you why" Pein said as a large crab appeared and bubbles were heading straight at him. "She stole a couple scrolls from us on her last mission, and it would be very nice of her if she'd give it back…"

"As my former student, he's got something of a grasp on my weakness." Jiraiya's hair began to expand as tied around the crab. With a stomp of his foot, the crab disappeared.

"You were never one to go down easily" Pein said. With a snap of a finger 5 more people came by Pein's side.

"Let me introduce you guys…" Pein said as each began to attack Jiraiya one-by-one.

**XxXxXxX**

"FIRE STYLE JUTSU!" Itachi and Sasuke shout as the both blow fire at each other. Both forces equaled each other. Itachi closed his eyes as his vision was getting blurry.

"Damn it…" Itachi cursed. He soon activated his Amaterasu. While he activated it, his right eye began to bleed. Sasuke immediately used his cursed seal as a large hand-like wing came out. Black flames began to head straight for him as Sasuke used his wing to block it.

Both of them looked very exhausted. Itachi kept touching his right eyes as it kept on bleeding.

**XxXxXxX**

As Sakura continue to fly around, she noticed that Sai's bird began to disappear. At that time a large explosion was heard. Sakura turned around as her eyes widened. "Sai…SAI!" Sakura shouted as she began to fall down. Sakura quickly used her ninja instinct as she landed safely to the ground.

Looking around she spotted three familiar people.

"Karin!" Sakura called out. Karin looked up from her battle to see Sakura staring at her confused.

"Found ya" Kisame said as he dodged Juugo's attack and ran towards Sakura.

"Oh no you don't! I'm you opponent!" Suigetsu said as he blocked Kisame's sword from hitting Sakura with Zabuza's sword."Karin, take Sakura out of here!"

"I'm on it" Karin said as she grabbed Sakura by the wrist and took her away from Kisame. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be protected by Kakashi and that other ninja.

"I don't want to be a burden" Sakura said as she looked into Karin's eyes with determination.

"I'm sorry Sakura, but you have to hide somewhere. Akatsuki is after you right now. Go and head straight. If you end up in danger, I'll sense it. Now go!" Karin said as she gave Sakura a push forward.

Sakura turned around and watched Karin get back into battle with Kisame. "Please be safe…" Sakura prayed as she ran off. Unknown to her, something in the trees was watching her.

Sakura sighed as she stopped a couple minutes later to catch her breath. Slowly she began to reach out for a kunai.

"Who's there?" Sakura called out to her surroundings but there was no answer. "I know you're there"

Before she knew it, a large plant headed straight towards her. Getting a closer view, she could see a person inside. His face was half black and half white with yellow eyes.

"You have been very hard to track down" He began to say. "Let's just take you to the boss…"

"**Or we can just eat her"** Sakura's face paled. **"A little taste wouldn't hurt, right?"**

Zetsu began to get closer to Sakura as she screamed as loud as she could.

"ARF!" A loud bark was heard as Kiba appeared out of nowhere.

"Sakura!" Kiba called out as Akamaru knocked Zetsu away from her.

"Sakura-chan" Hinata said as she checked to see if Sakura was injured or not.

"Are you okay Haruno-san?" Shino asked. Sakura didn't know anyone except for Akamaru and Hinata.

"I'm fine Hinata-san" Sakura said.

"We'll handle this guy" Kiba said with a smirk.

"I want to hit him first….because I didn't get to be in the last mission" Shino said. Kiba made a face at him.

"Are you still brooding over that?" Kiba asked.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan; we'll protect you and Naruto-kun till the very end…" Hinata said.

"Akamaru, go take Sakura somewhere safe" Kiba ordered. Akamaru barked to agree as Kiba helped Sakura up. Akamaru soon began to leave the battlefield.

"Everyone is trying to protect me…" Sakura said to Akamaru. "Am I that weak?" She thought about all the Akatsuki members she encountered and all the friends that came to protect her. Akamaru soon stopped as he let her get down. Akamaru barked as if telling her to stay put as he went back to help Kiba and the others.

Sakura looked around as she heard the sound of yelling and fighting. She could feel large amounts of charka as well. As she walked around, she could see two people fighting not too far away. Looking closely, she realized it was Sasuke and Itachi fighting.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said as she ran as close as she could.

"The replacement you used to dodge my Amaterasu was a move straight from Orochimaru's repertoire. Although it's extremely difficult to detect, it also consumes a massive amount of charka." Itachi said.

"I won't deny I'm out of charka…I used I had left for that fire technique. But don't tell me you think I'm here to kill you without preparing first? It'll be over in an instant. This technique is like Amaterasu, it's impossible to avoid. It's time to reproduce what I saw earlier…the vision of your death!" Sasuke said. Sakura's eyes widened. This wasn't the Sasuke she knew. He was something different. Something evil….

Lighting flashed up above as it began to rain. Sasuke soon crouched down as lighting like charka formed in his hand. A large beast like lighting came behind Sasuke. "Disappear with the lightning" Sasuke said. A large lightning bolt came and hit Itachi directly. Sakura had to hide between trees to not get hit. When the smoke subsided, all Sakura and Sasuke could see was Itachi's body laying on the ground face first.

"I-Is Itachi dead?" Sakura whispered.

"Over…It's all over…" Sasuke said with a tired look. "I did it!"

"Is that what you saw in your vision of my death?" Itachi asked as he got up with blood flowing out of his mouth. Sasuke's eyes widened as he grew angrier. Sasuke began to grind his teeth as the curse seal began to spread all over his body. His hair became wild and longer as his skin became darker.

"GOD DAMN YOU!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura felt goose bumps as she covered her ears and shut her eyes. Sasuke sounded and looked so scary.

Itachi looked over to where he believed Sakura was hiding. He knew she was there for the longest time, but decided not to let Sasuke know…not yet.

"Are you looking for a way to escape Itachi?" Sasuke shouted.

Itachi smirked. "You have grown very strong Sasuke. Behold my last attack, Susano!"

**Shall I lend you my powers?**

Orochimaru's voice echoed through Sasuke's mind as he fell to his knees.

**Admit it Sasuke-kun, you need me. You do want your revenge on Itachi, don't you? Come, unleash me and your wish will be granted.**

Itachi and Sakura's eyes widened when Orochimaru came out of Sasuke's cursed seal.

"You finally showed up" Itachi said with a smirk.

"Thank you for forcing Sasuke to use up the own charka that was used to suppress me" Orochimaru said. "Now, I can take over his body!"

Sakura soon ran up as Orochimaru noticed her.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, Tsunade's apprentice" Orochimaru said. "You'll be the first I kill"

"S-Sakura?" Sasuke weakly said as he looked right into the eyes of a terrified Sakura. "What is she doing here. She should be where we hid her…"

Orochimaru sent a snake at her as Itachi quickly moved to pick her up and move out of the way. The two rolled as Itachi ended up on top of her. Sakura stared at him in shocked. He just saved her. "Stay here or do whatever you want, but do not interfere with this battle".

"Y-You need to tell Sasuke-kun now!" Sakura said.

"You really do know too much" Itachi said as he got off her. "Promise that you'll take care of Sasuke later on for me"

That left Sakura to have a flashback of her last mission. Itachi soon got up as he threw a sword at Orochimaru and cut him.

"A cut like that can't kill me. I-"Orochimaru stopped when he noticed that the sword was sucking his powers. "You! You had the sword all along" Orochimaru soon died as the curse seal was gone from Sasuke.

"Your eyes belong to me now Sasuke. I'll take them slowly. I want to savor this…" Itachi's eyes widened with pain as he clutched his shirt. His chest felt like it was on fire. He soon coughed up massive blood. Itachi began to get up as Sasuke threw a kunai at him but it was deflected.

Sasuke began to feel panic as he used another attack but it was deflected again.

"My eyes…" Itachi said as he got closer. Sasuke was pushed to the wall as Itachi was only a few steps away. Sasuke was out of charka as his heart began to beat fast. Itachi was going to take his eyes!

Itachi's bloody fingers began to head for Sasuke's eyes as Sasuke had nowhere to run.

Sasuke's eyes were opened wide as Itachi did not take his eyes. Instead he just poked him in the head like he used to do when they were little.

"Sorry Sasuke, this is it. The kunoichi will tell you everything…" Itachi said with a sad smile. His fingers slowly went down Sasuke's forehead and then to his left cheek as Itachi hit his head on the wall next to Sasuke. He soon fell to his knees and died with his head hitting the ground first. Sasuke stared down at his dead brother's body. It began to rain. Looking at Sasuke's face, Sakura couldn't tell if Sasuke was crying or if it was just the rain. Slowly he too fell to the ground.

Sakura watched as the brothers collapsed to the ground.

"SASUKE-KUN! ITACHI-SAN!" Sakura cried as she ran up to them. Sakura immediately put her hands over Sasuke. She forced charka into her hands as it formed green. It was exactly like what she did to Naruto before, but this was more difficult. When she was done, Sasuke was fine, but still needed medical attention. Sakura looked over to Itachi as his dead eyes stared at her.

"Itachi-san…." Sakura said as she closed his eyes. "I'll keep my promise…"

"What are you talking about…?" Sasuke weakly asked.

"Itachi-san shouldn't have died!" Sakura cried. Sasuke glared at her.

"He killed my family!" Sasuke shouted weakly. Sakura crawled to him as she stared at him straight in the eyes.

"He killed your family because they were planning to destroy Konoha with Danzou!" Sakura shouted. Sakura soon stood up as she helped Sasuke up. Sasuke had his arm around her shoulder as he looked down at his brother.

"That's a lie…" Sasuke said.

"No, it's true. I could tell he was telling the truth. That night when he was forced to kill the whole Uchiha clan, he couldn't kill you…he couldn't kill his little brother who he loved so much. He told me that as tears were falling down his face! He sacrificed everything for Konoha and you." Sakura said as she cried. She tried to carry Itachi's dead body was well but found it difficult.

"Why are you brining Itachi's body with us?" Sasuke asked.

"H-He deserves to be buried in the place he worked hard to protect" Sakura said. Sasuke stared at her thinking over what she had told him.

"He hurt you…" Sasuke said as he looked away. "On that mission…"

"I-I don't remember much about that mission, but I know for a fact that you got the wrong guy. Itachi didn't hurt me." Sakura defended Itachi.

"Only someone with the Sharingan could have given those wounds to you…" Sasuke said. Sakura was quiet for a bit before looked at Sasuke seriously.

"Someone else in Akatsuki has the Sharingan…" Sakura said. Sasuke's eyes widened as he remembered what Itachi had told him in their final battle.

'"_Who is the third Uchiha survivor? The __**other Sharingan user **__that you told me about?" Sasuke asked._

"_Why do you want to know about him?" Itachi asked._

"_Because he's next on my list after I kill you!"_

"_You? Kill him?" Itachi asked as he narrowed his eyes. _

"_On that night you said there was a third person. I realized it could be only someone you didn't kill, which means he helped you wipe off the entire Uchiha clan!" Sasuke watched as Itachi smirked. "Even you couldn't have killed the leaf's entire military police force on your own."_

"_So you figured it out" Itachi said._

"_Who is he?" Sasuke asked._

"_**Uchiha Mandara**__" Itachi said. "One of leaf's founding fathers and the first one to ever awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."_

"_Founding fathers? If that is true, he'd be dead! Don't fuck around with me, Itachi!" Sasuke shouted._

"_**Mandara is very much alive**__. __**It's up to you whether or not you believe me**__"_

"Mandara…" Sasuke said. Sakura felt Sasuke get out of her hold as he moved to the other side of Itachi and helped hold him. Sasuke still needed medical attention but he was still strong enough to help move his brother.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said surprised Sasuke was helping.

"You said that Itachi deserved to be buried in the place he worked hard to protect, didn't you?" Sasuke said. It had stopped raining as it began to snow as Sasuke cried for his dead brother. "Why didn't he tell me sooner?" Sasuke cried as he fell on his knees.

Sakura gently placed Itachi's body down on her lap as she hugged Sasuke in a comforting hug. "He wanted to set you and him free…"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Naruto woke up to see Iruka sitting next to him.

"So, you finally decided to wake up" Iruka said. Naruto immediately jumped up as he looked around.

"Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here? Where's Kaka-sensei? Why did he knock me out? What's going on?" Naruto noticed that they were inside the Hokage Mountain. He also noticed that there was a hole in the Fourth Hokage's ear. "And why is my father missing his left ear?"

Iruka sighed. Leave it to that lazy Kakashi to leave him to explain everything to Naruto. "We're under attack Naruto. Akatsuki has already invaded our village"

"What! Where's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"She left to stop them. She was the one who created that hole. Kakashi is already going after her. We have to get you to safety. We cannot let Akatsuki get you." Iruka said as he tried to lead Naruto somewhere else but Naruto slapped his hand away.

"And I cannot let Akatsuki keep ruining everyone's lives. They already killed Asuma-sensei and almost killed Sakura-chan! I will not let him kill anyone else!" Naruto said as he ran out.

"N-Naruto! Wait! Don't just go running off like that!" Iruka shouted as he chased after him.

Naruto ran as quickly as he could as he felt strong charka nearby. One of them was really familiar to him and it was fading.

"Pervy-Sage!" Naruto called out to see Jiraiya falling into the water. Jiraiya's bloody form moved to look at his student.

"N-Naruto…the title will be the tale of Naruto Uzumaki…" Jiraiya whispered as his body sunk down.

"Pervy-sage!" Naruto cried as he dove into the water to grab his sensei back. Naruto got back on shore as he tried to revive him but it was too late. "YOU!" Naruto shouted as his eyes turned red. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

Pein looked down at Naruto. "So, you finally came to me…" Pein said as he began to walk closer to Naruto. Sticking out his hand, he pulled Naruto forward. "You made it easier for me to complete my mission. Now I just need to find that girl"

"I-I won't let you lay a finger on Sakura-chan" Naruto growled.

"Naruto-san!" a voice cried out. Pein and Naruto looked to see Sakura and Sasuke holding up Itachi's dead body.

"Itachi is dead…" Naruto whispered.

"You leaf-people are too generous…" Pein said. Pein threw Naruto aside as he went up to Sakura in a flash and threw her to the ground. Sakura dropped one of the scrolls.

"SAKURA!" Naruto called out as he bit his lip. That impact hurt. Sasuke had collapsed to the ground. He was still weak from his last battle.

"You have been a real pain in the ass for us. Where did you put the scrolls kunoichi?" Pein said as he picked up Sakura by the throat. Sakura did her best to wiggle herself out but it wasn't working.

"Don't touch her!" Naruto said as he tried to get up.

"N-Naruto-san…" Sakura cried as she raised her right hand to reach out to him.

"Don't touch her?" Pein repeated his question. Another Pein soon appeared next to Pein and Sakura. This Pein was thin and had long orange hair.

"Where did you put the scrolls you took from the base?" The new Pein asked.

"I don't know…" Sakura answered. The Pein smirked as he began to extract her soul.

Naruto watched in shocked as her soul began to come out of her mouth.

"I SAID LEAVE HER ALONE!" Naruto shouted. Before they knew it, Chidori had hit the thin Pein in the chest. Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Sasuke staring at the Pein viciously. The Pein holding Sakura dropped her to the ground as Naruto ran up to her. Sakura's soul soon went back into her as she began to cough.

"Naruto, get that Pein. I'll finish this one off" Sasuke said.

"S-Sasuke, you're still weak from your last battle" Naruto said. "Who's gonna protect Sakura from the other Peins?"

Sasuke smirked. "Sakura isn't the same weak girl we though she was. She can handle herself" Sasuke said as he began to attack Pein.

"I guess that leaves me to take care of this one" A new voice said. Sakura and Naruto looked up to see Kakashi looking at them.

"Naruto, stand back and take Sakura with you." Kakashi said as he formed Chidori in his hands. Pein soon blocked that attack with his own as he pushed Kakashi away.

Sakura looked up to see a scroll near her. She looked over to see the two Peins were busy with their battles. Sakura slowly crawled to the scroll. Naruto noticed this as he looked confused.

"Sakura-chan, what do you think you're doing?" Naruto whispered loudly. He looked to see Sakura was heading towards a scroll. "I see…"

Naruto soon helped distract the Pein that was fighting with Kakashi.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Kakashi asked. Pein looked over to see that Sakura was heading for the scroll. He soon pushed Naruto and Kakashi away as he grabbed the sword from Sasuke and focused it on Sakura.

"My sword…" Sasuke said as he was knocked out by the Pein he was fighting.

"He's aiming straight at Sakura!" Kakashi said as he made a run for her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out.

Sakura looked up to see the sword was aiming straight at her. Blood flew to her face as her eyes widened. Sakura fell to her knees. Naruto's fell to his knees as well in shock. There in front of him was Kakashi and Sakura on their knees with Sasuke's sword right through them. Kakashi was hugged Sakura as her head was resting on his chest. Blood was trailing out of their mouth.

"NO!!!" Naruto's shout echoed through the forest.

"K-Kaka-sensei…" Sakura whispered as she looked up to see Kakashi giving her one last smile before they both fell to the ground. A couple minutes later, Ino and her team made it to the battle field. They had finished killing Hidan.

"Sakura!" Ino cried as she went up to Kakashi and Sakura. "Oh god no!"

Chouji ran to Sasuke and brought him to Sakura and Kakashi.

"Are they…?" Chouji didn't finish his sentence.

"We have to get them out of here" Shikamaru said. Ino removed the sword from Kakashi and Sakura. Sakura just stared at the dead body of Kakashi.

"Kaka-sensei…" Sakura whispered.

"Sakura, its okay, thank goodness you're still alive" Ino said as she began to heal her best friend. Sakura weakly moved Ino's hands away.

"Kaka-sensei…" Sakura repeated his name. Ino got the message as she tried to heal Kakashi. After a few minutes, Ino stopped.

"I'm sorry…" Ino said.

Sakura shut her eyes tight not wanting to hear it. Naruto was shaking visibly as red charka formed around him. His skin began to peel off as he let out an animal like scream.

"The Kyuubi…" Pein said as a large gust of energy blasted away all the snow on the ground as well as the others. Sakura and Sasuke had hit a tree as they fell to the ground. Kakashi's and Itachi's body had flown away with Ino's team.

Naruto angrily charged at Pein.

**XxXxXxX**

Team Gai was heading back to Konoha from their mission. Tenten looked up to see birds flying away from Konoha.

"Why are the birds flying away from Konoha?" Tenten asked.

"Something's not right" Neji said looking further ahead with his Byakugan he noticed a large amount of charka shooting towards the sky.

"Something is going on" Neji said. "We have to hurry"

"I have an unyouthful feeling right now…" Lee said.

"It's okay my youthful students, my cool rival Kakashi will do something if there is" Gai said with a smile. His team knew he didn't believe what he said. That smile wasn't blinding them at all.

When they got to the gates, their mouths dropped. Everyone in Konoha was destroyed.

"What is going on?" Tenten said covering her mouth in shocked.

"Akatsuki" Neji said.

**XxXxXxX**

Pein and Naruto were at it for a while. They seemed to be truly equal with each other. Soon Naruto ended on the ground with one of Pein's charka sticks through Naruto's hand.

"Why?!" Naruto shouted. "Why are you doing this?!"

"You ask me why I'm doing this, but my answer won't change a thing. My goal is something not even Jiraiya could achieve. Through Justice, I will bring peace"

"Justice…Peace…you've got to be kidding me. You've got to be frickin' kidding me…! YOU KILLED MY MASTER! MY TEACHERS!! MY FRIENDS!!! MY VILLAGE!!!! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT WHEN YOU DESTROYED THEM ALL!!?" Naruto shouted.

"Then what do you want?" Pein asked.

"I want to kill you and bring peace to the world of ninjas!" Naruto said.

"I see…that's wonderful. That's justice. But… my family, my friends, my village were all destroyed too. Do you really think the ninjas of Konoha are the only ones allowed to talk about peace and justice? We both want the same thing. We both want the peace Jiraiya spoke of. You and I are no different. We're both working for our own peace. The justice I meted out against Konoha…is exactly the same as you are trying to mete out against me. Everyone feels the pain of loss the same. We both know that pain. You're working for your justice…and I for mine. We are just ordinary people driven to revenge in the name of justice. But if revenge is called justice, then that justice breeds yet more revenge…and becomes a chain of hatred." Naruto looked up at Pein thinking about what he said.

"Living within it, aware of the past, predicting the future, that is what it means to know history. We cannot help but know that people can never understand each other. The world of ninjas is ruled by hatred…"

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura woke up to see her vision was blurry. After a while, her vision got clear as she saw Pein standing in front of Naruto who was on the ground.

"N-Naruto-san…" Sakura slowly got up.

"S-Sakura…" Sasuke called out to her. He was still weak to get up. "Don't interfere…"

"Naruto-san needs me" Sakura said as she made a run towards Pein and punched him straight in the face.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto said as Sakura tried to pry the piercing out of Naruto.

"I'm here Naruto, I'll protect you now…" Sakura said as she got up and pulled gloves out of her pockets.

"Give me the scroll" Pein demanded.

"You'll never find the scrolls, you're wasting your time here" Sakura said. Pein looked at her confused. "I destroyed all them while memorizing it"

"You lie" Pein said. Sakura smirked as she took out the last scroll in her possessions as she did a fire jutsu and burnt it in front of Pein.

"Bitch…" Pein cursed as he lunged at Sakura. Before he could end her life, Tobi appeared and stopped the attack.

"Don't…" Tobi said.

"Tobi…" Pein said as he let go of Sakura and bowed to Tobi.

"Why are you bowing to…?" Naruto didn't finish as he realized what was going on.

"Meet the true leader of Akatsuki, Mandara Uchiha…." Pein said. Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at Tobi.

"Finish the Jinchiruki off and bring his body to the base. Don't forget Sasuke as well. Tobi take care of the girl" Tobi said. As he picked up Sakura by the head and forced her to look at his right eye. Sakura's eyes grew dark as she collapsed in his arms.

"Damn it…" Sasuke said as he was unable to move.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cried out as she disappeared with Tobi.

**-**

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**Woo Hoo! Another chapter done. If you noticed, I was really lazy with Jiraiya's battle, so I BSed it. I hope this chapter didn't turn out bad. I really tried my best to have this story close to what's going on with the Manga, but added my own twist to it. Please wait for the next chapter! Thanks for reading please review everyone.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

"_Tobi…" Pein said as he let go of Sakura and bowed to Tobi._

"_Why are you bowing to…?" Naruto didn't finish as he realized what was going on._

"_Meet the true leader of Akatsuki, Mandara Uchiha…." Pein said. Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at Tobi._

"_Finish the Jinchiruki off and bring his body to the base. Don't forget Sasuke as well. Tobi take care of the girl" Tobi said. As he picked up Sakura by the head and forced her to look at his right eye. Sakura's eyes grew dark as she collapsed in his arms._

"_Damn it…" Sasuke said as he was unable to move._

"_SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cried out as she disappeared with Tobi. _

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto stared at where Sakura was last standing. "Damn you…" Naruto whispered. "DAMN YOU TO HELL!" He shouted at Pein as he created a clone. Rasegan appeared in his hands as he charged at him. Pein raised his hand parallel to his body as he just watch as Naruto fly away.

"Why must you kill everyone I care about?" Naruto demanded as he slowly got up. A slug that was healing Sasuke soon went to inform Tsunade.

**XxXxXxX**

Tsunade breathed heavily. Her ANBU surrounded her to protect her from everything and everyone.

"T-Tsunade-sama…" A slug came up to her.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked.

"He's gone…" She said.

"Who's gone?" Shizune asked.

"Jiraiya…" The slug said. "Pein killed him."

Shizune could feel a change in Tsunade's chakra. Tsunade's hazel eyes widened then darkened.

"_Just bet that I won't come back alive." Jiraiya said as he winked at her. "Your bad luck is good for something"_

"Why did I win that bet?" Tsunade said as she cried.

"Naruto-kun is fighting Pein right now" That caught Shizune and Tsunade's attention.

"What!" Tsunade said.

"And the leader has Sakura in his hands"

"How can he if he's fighting Naruto?" Shizune asked.

"Pein's not the real Leader. The one with the mask is" The slug said.

"I'll go!" Shizune said. "Just stay here Tsunade-sama"

"Shizune…" Tsunade said. Shizune looked at Tsunade's appearance. She looked older by the minute.

"I'll make sure I get Sakura-chan back!" Shizune promised as she left.

**XxXxXxX**

Suigetsu growled as he missed attacking Kisame. Kisame smirked as he did a few back flips. Kisame could soon feel something heading his way.

"I wasn't here to fight you three. I was just here to stall you guys."

"What? What do you mean by that?" Karin demanded to know. Suigetsu and Juugo waited for Kisame as he smirked. Another Akatsuki member appeared next to Kisame out of nowhere. The gang's eyes widened when they saw Sakura in his arms.

"Sakura!" Suigetsu called out but she didn't answer.

"What have you done to her!?" Karin shouted. Tobi just ignored them as he turned to face Kisame.

"Itachi died…" Tobi said to Kisame. Kisame's eyes widened.

"His little brother actually killed him…?" Kisame questioned.

"It doesn't matter. Leader wants Tobi to get the information out of Sakura-chan here!" Tobi said.

"Let's go!" Kisame said.

"Stop!" Karin shouted as she tried to run towards them but the soon vanished.

"Damn it!" Suigetsu said as he stabbed his sword into the ground.

"They have Sakura-san…" Juugo said sadly.

Karin's knees fell to the ground as she put her face in her hands as she let out a frustrated cry.

**XxXxXxX**

Hinata was able to close up a couple of Zetsu's charka points.

"Good job Hinata!" Kiba said cheering for his girlfriend. "Shino, finish the job!"

"Gladly!" Shino said as he sent his bugs out of his coat.

Hinata looked around in panic as she noticed two power charkas heading this way. "People are coming towards this direction"

The team watched as Tobi and Kisame appeared next to Zetsu.

"We got the kunoichi. The leader wants us to start the ritual now" Kisame said.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata cried out. Akamaru growled as he and Kiba charged at them.

"I don't think so!" Kiba shouted as he spun around and aimed for Kisame. But they soon disappeared as Kiba hit the tree behind them.

"They got away!" Shino said.

"T-they got Sakura-chan!" Hinata cried. "D-Does that mean they have Naruto-kun as well?"

"Let's hope not" Kiba said as he brushed the snow from his shoulders.

**XxXxXxX**

Team Gai arrived just in time to see Naruto heading towards Pein with a powerful jutsu.

"Naruto-kun…" Lee muttered in amazement as Naruto walked up to Pein's dead body.

"I-Is he dead?" Tenten asked.

"Yes. Naruto defeated the leader of Akatsuki…" Neji said.

"Naruto-kun!" Lee called out.

Gai looked to see Sasuke slowly getting up.

"Damn it!" Sasuke whispered as he weakly walked up to Naruto.

Naruto had fallen to his hands and knees as he gripped a lot of snow in his hands.

"Naruto, what happened?" Gai asked.

"They took her!" Naruto said. "The leader took Sakura-chan"

"The leader? But Naruto, you just killed him!" Tenten said.

"That wasn't the leader" Sasuke said.

"What?" Neji said shocked.

"This guy isn't the leader. He was like a puppet. The real leader is the one with the orange mask. He took Sakura!" Sasuke said.

Naruto growled as he grabbed onto one of Pein's charka sticks. He soon stabbed himself with as he found himself flying towards Hokage Mountain, specifically the head of the First Hokage.

"Found him" Naruto said.

"We'll go with you" Lee said.

"No, I'll go by myself" Naruto said.

"But you are already weakened from this battle. You can't handle the rest of the Akatsuki like this. Besides they're after you. You'll die!" Neji said as he grabbed Naruto's arm,

"If that's what it takes to get Sakura-chan back, I'm going!" Naruto yelled. Neji's eyes widened as he let go of Naruto's arm.

"At least let us go with you" Gai said.

"They killed Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto said in a sad tone. Gai's eyes widened.

"W-What did you just say?"

"Kakashi was trying to save Sakura-chan and died in the process…"

Gai's eyes turned hard.

"I'm going with you" Gai said.

"They have taken my Sakura-san, i must go after them!" Lee said.

"Us too" Tenten said.

"Ah" Sasuke said.

"Fine. They're hiding up in the Hokage-mountain." Naruto said.

**XxXxXxX**

Kisame and Zetsu followed Tobi closely to the Hokage-mountain.

"We're here" Tobi said. When they entered, they noticed someone in the shadows.

"Who is that?" Kisame asked.

"That is the real Pein" Tobi said. "His real name is Nagato"

"The 9-tails defeated the last Pein" Nagato said. "Sorry Leader"

'Leader?!' Zetsu and Kisame shouted in their heads.

"I am the real leader of Akatsuki…" Tobi said as he put Sakura down on the ground. Tobi soon took off his mask. "…Mandara Uchiha!"

"We are the last members of Akatsuki. We have lost important members, but their efforts will not be in vain. We have all the information of the missing scrolls, all in the head of this girl here." Mandara said. "Once we get the power of the 9-tails, everything will be going according to plan."

"**How do you plan to get the information out of her?"** Zetsu asked.

"With a ritual" Mandara said as he walked up to Sakura and slit his palm with a kunai. He soon made a circle of blood, surrounding Sakura. "Kisame, go and face opposite of Nagato. Zetsu stand over there. Now make the same signs you make when we have our meetings. Since there are less of us here, we have to use a lot of energy. I stole some of the soldier pills the kunoichi had in her bag. They will help us."

The four popped one soldier pill as they faces began to turn blue.

"W-What was that?" Kisame said.

"It tastes nasty" Zetsu said. "**But I can feel my strength and charka growing"**

Mandara made a clone take his place as he walked up to Sakura's body that was beginning to levitate.

"The ritual is working" Mandara said as he placed his hands on the sides of Sakura's head.

"Haruno-san, Haruno-san, wake up"

"_Wake up"_

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura's green eyes opened to feel an eraser hit her head. She could hear people laughing at her. Looking around she found herself in a classroom full of familiar faces.

"Sorry my class is boring Haruno-san, but will you please not sleep in my classroom" The teacher said. Sakura looked to see Kakashi looking at her with an annoyed look.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura said. "I thought you died!"

"Nice to know what you were dreaming about" Kakashi said.

The class began to laugh again.

"It wasn't a dream!" Sakura cried out. "We're all from Konoha, the village hidden in the leaf!"

"Sakura, you need to stop having dreams about being a ninja" Sasuke said. He was sitting in a desk next to her.

"I told you it's not a dream! We are all ninjas! You have the power of the Sharingan, it gives you the ability to copy people" Sakura said.

"So that's why Sasuke is able to pass all his tests with perfect grades?" Ino asked. "Sakura-chan, you so funny"

"Ino-chan! You have to believe me!" Sakura said on the verge of tears. She didn't know what was going on. One minute she was in a battlefield, the next she's in a classroom.

Kakashi said. "Naruto, can you please take Sakura to the infirmary room?"

"Sure Kaka-sensei!" Naruto said. "Let's go Sakura-chan!"

The two soon walked outside the classroom as Sakura was going to cry.

"Don't cry Sakura-chan! You know I hate it when you cry" Naruto said as she felt him hug her tightly. "I'll admit that your dreams of ninja are weird, but that's what I like about you."

"I told you! It's not a dream, it's real!" Sakura shouted. "Look, I have super strength!" Naruto watched as Sakura punched the wall hard only to have her finger broken.

"Yeah, you really need to see the infirmary. Don't worry! Shizune will take care of you!" Naruto said as he led her there.

"Why, hello there Naruto-kun! Oh Sakura-chan too?" Shizune said with a smile.

"Same problem" Naruto whispered to Shizune, but Sakura heard it.

"It's been a while. Ever since she and her parents got into that terrible car accident, she ended up surviving but had to be in a coma. The doctors said that she was in her own dream of the ninja world. It seems like it's still affecting her."

"T-This isn't real! We're in battle Naruto! Akatsuki came and attack Konoha" Sakura cried.

"Akatsuki?" You mean that senior group Sasuke's brother is in?" Naruto asked. "Sure, they look scary, but they're pretty chill"

RIIING

"Ah, it's lunchtime. Do you want to stay in here today Sakura-chan? Or do you want to go with Naruto-kun?"

"I-I'll go with Naruto…" Sakura said as Naruto smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Let's go!" Naruto said as he pulled Sakura to the cafeteria.

"Naruto! We're running to fast!" Sakura said as she felt herself trip and bump into someone. Sakura rubbed her butt as she looked up.

"I can see your panties, hmm"

Sakura looked to see it was that guy Sai was fighting before.

"Deidara!" Sakura said as she got up and blushed.

"It's Deidara-sempai to you, hmm" Deidara said with a smile.

Sakura glared at him. "Where's Sai! What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything to him, hmm" Deidara said.

"I saw the explosions!" Sakura cried.

"Ugly?" a voice said behind her. Sakura turned around to see Sai and Sasuke walking into the cafeteria.

"Sorry Deidara-sempai, Sakura is still having some of her episodes" Sai said.

Deidara just waved his hand. "It's cool. I understand with that incident she was in a couple months ago. Besides, how can I be so upset with such a cute girl, hmm?"

"Sai!" Sakura cried out as she hugged him tightly. "I don't understand what's going on right now, but we have to find a way out of this jutsu!"

"Jutsu?" Sai tilted his head to the side. "Oh! Are we playing ninja again? The last time we played was so fun! What was that power I had again? Oh yeah, being able to make my drawings come alive!" Sai finished with a smile.

"This isn't a game!" Sakura shouted. Sakura soon felt Sasuke pull her to his chest as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Will you relax Sakura? If you want, we'll play ninja tomorrow for you. We'll tell the whole school. Tsunade-sama will probably allow it since she favors you" Sasuke said.

"Hey teme! Don't do that to my Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he grabbed and held Sakura in a protective hold. "Isn't that right Sakura-chan?"

Sakura's heart began to beat rapidly as the heat ran to her face.

"So not far!" Ino said. "You get to hang out with three hunks all the time!"

"Sasuke-kun is mine!" Karin cried out.

"What about me?" Suigetsu asked.

"K-Karin!" Sakura ran to her and hugged her.

"H-Haruno! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Karin asked annoyed and embarrassed.

"She's still in her ninja world" Naruto said as he lifted Sakura over his shoulders.

"W-where are we going?" Sakura asked.

"Everyone is waiting for you!" Juugo said as they went to the lunch tables outside.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata said as she hugged her.

"I heard you had another episode in class" Tenten said.

"Enough! I know this isn't real! We're all ninjas! I'm in team seven which consist of Naruto, Sasuke-kun, Sai, and me. Kakashi-sensei and Yamato sensei is the leader of our group. Ino, you're in a group with Shikamaru and Chouji. Asuma-sensei is your leader! Hinata is in a group with Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino. Your sensei is Kurenai. She and Asuma are married and had child, but he died before he could know that Kurenai-sensei was pregnant! And then Tenten is in a team with Lee and Neji. Your leader is Gai-sensei." Sakura said.

"Tomorrow, we're going to play ninja for Sakura-chan!" Naruto said.

"What powers do we have?" Neji asked.

Sakura paused for a bit. This had to be a dream. She soon took a moment as she tried to remember what everyone's power was.

"…Naruto is very strong and have many jutsu. He has a 9-tailed demon sealed inside of him. Sasuke-kun has the power of the Sharingan. Sai can make his drawings come to life. Ino can transfer her soul into other people's body. Shikamaru had the power to control people and objects with shadows. Chouji can expand his body. Hinata and Neji have the power of the Byakugan. It rivals Sasuke-kun's Sharingan. Kiba has powers like a dog and are able to do attacks with Akamaru. Shino can control bugs. Tenten is the weapon mistress. Lee doesn't have powers like us but he is highly skilled in tai-jutsu."

"How cool! Sakura-chan is so youthful!" Lee said.

"Too bad this is all pretend" Shikamaru said.

"This isn't pretend, and I'll show you!" Sakura shouted as she ran into the school.

"What is she's planning to do?" Kiba asked.

"We have to follow her" Naruto said. "She might hurt herself in the state she's in"

Sakura ran as fast as she could as she reached the school's roof.

"Oh no! Sakura is on the roof!" Tenten said as she pointed up to Sakura walking to the edge of the roof.

"Sakura-chan! Get down!" Ino shouted.

"NO!" This caught everyone's attention.

"Oh no! That's Haruno-san!" One of the students said.

"Don't jump" another said.

"Watch, we're ninja! We have the ability to jump from great heights.

"But, you're not a ninja!" Sasuke shouted.

"Just what is going on here?" Tsunade asked as she ran out with her nurse Shizune.

"Tsunade-sama! Haruno-san is on the roof!" A student told her.

"WHAT?!"

Everyone watched in shock as Sakura jumped off.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted as he and everyone ran to where they thought Sakura was going to fall.

Sakura tumbled to the ground as felt the hard impact. She could hear everyone running to her.

"W-Why wasn't I able to land safely?" Sakura asked herself as she cried in pain. She couldn't move.

"Sakura? It's Tsunade. Can you hear me? We're going to take you to the hospital" Tsunade said. "Oh god, she's bleeding so much. Did someone call the hospital already?"

Sakura watched as her vision became dark.

"Make this pain stop…" was the last thing Sakura whispered.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura opened her eyes to see herself in a hospital. The whiteness hurt her eyes for a bit. She could hear voices outside the room talking about her.

"She's not well" the deep voice said. "Not only did she break both her legs, her left arm, fractured her color bone, her skull, and lost a lot of blood, her mind seems to be messed up"

"I know Uncle, but what can we do?" Sakura's eyes widened. That was Sasuke's voice.

"Just leave everything to me. I know how to help her" The voice said.

"Thanks Uncle."

"Don't worry, just back to school and inform everyone. I'll talk to her" Sakura watched as the door to her room opened as the doctor walked in. Sakura's eyes widened with fear as she began to cry.

'No' Sakura shouted in her head. 'NO'

There in front of her was Mandara Uchiha smiling at her.

**XxXxXxX**

"Yes, Sakura-chan, shake in fear. The ninja world is not real" Mandara said as Kisame, Zetsu, and Nagato continued to concentrate their charka though they heard the sound of bones breaking.

-

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-

-

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**WOW! Another twist! Poor Sakura, she's so confused right now! I tried to add some funny parts like when Akatsuki tried some of Sakura's homemade soldier pills. I was having a difficult time typing this chapter up. I didn't know what to do next, but this is what I ended up in the end. How was it? Did you guys like it? I don't know what's going to happen next, I guess whatever pops into my mind. If you guys have any ideas, please tell me. Thank you for reading. Please review everyone.**

**-Kumiko**


	21. Chapter 21

Oh man. SATs are over. All that's left for me to worry about it AP Calculus this Wednesday. I'm so nervous! All I'm wishing for is just to pass. I don't want to take Calculus in college. BLEH! HAHA. Well let's just get on with the story shall we? Haha.

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

_Sakura opened her eyes to see herself in a hospital. The whiteness hurt her eyes for a bit. She could hear voices outside the room talking about her._

"_She's not well" the deep voice said. "Not only did she break both her legs, her left arm, fractured her color bone, her skull, and lost a lot of blood, her mind seems to be messed up"_

"_I know Uncle, but what can we do?" Sakura's eyes widened. That was Sasuke's voice._

"_Just leave everything to me. I know how to help her" The voice said. _

"_Thanks Uncle." _

"_Don't worry, just back to school and inform everyone. I'll talk to her" Sakura watched as the door to her room opened as the doctor walked in. Sakura's eyes widened with fear as she began to cry._

'_No' Sakura shouted in her head. 'NO'_

_There in front of her was Mandara Uchiha smiling at her. _

_**XxXxXxX**_

"_Yes, Sakura-chan, shake in fear. The ninja world is not real" Mandara said as Kisame, Zetsu, and Nagato continued to concentrate their charka though they heard the sound of bones breaking._

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto passed through the forest as fast as he could. He soon stopped to see Shikamaru's group with Kakashi's and Itachi's bodies lying on the snow. The others soon caught up to him.

"Shikamaru!" Lee called out as he helped Shikamaru up.

"Damn, that hurt like hell" Shikamaru said.

Gai slowly walked up to Kakashi's body. "Kakashi…" Gai whispered as he put Kakashi's body on his back. "Don't worry, I'll get my revenge and help save your student"

"Itachi is dead?" Neji said surprised.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said as he carried his brother's body. Everyone could hear the sound of regret in his voice as he said that. Tenten helped Ino up as Naruto did the same for Chouji.

"You guys okay?" Tenten asked.

"We're fine" Ino said.

"ARF!" A bark was heard as Kiba's group came up to them.

"Neji-niisan!" Hinata said. Everyone looked to see Sai on Akamaru's back.

"Ino, Sai needs attention now!" Kiba said. "He got burnt real badly"

Ino nodded as she laid Sai down and began to heal him. The burns were slowly disappearing.

"Thank you Yamanaka" Sai said weakly as he sat up with the girls supporting his back.

"Who did this to you?" Naruto asked.

"I fought the blond member. The one that looks like Ino" Sai said. Ino growled at him. Sai soon looked at everyone and noticed the bodies.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sai whispered.

"He died protecting Sakura-chan" Naruto said. Sai's eyes widened.

"Where's Sakura?" Sai asked.

"They took her…" Sasuke said pissed.

"Sakura is in Akatsuki's hands?" Shikamaru said as his eyes widened. "How could you guys let that happen?"

"Another member came out of nowhere and then disappeared" Sasuke explained.

"The one with the mask!" Hinata said. "W-We saw him when he came to get the Akatsuki member we were fighting.

"I found them!" Karin's voice was heard. "They have Sakura"

"We know" Gai said. "Naruto found out where they are hiding"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Suigetsu asked. Shikamaru raised a hand.

"We don't know what they're planning" Shikamaru said.

"Mandara Uchiha is alive" Sasuke said. "He's the real leader of Akatsuki. The one Naruto fought was just a puppet"

"What are we going to do?" Tenten asked.

"Leave it to me" Naruto said. "They're after me" Shikamaru soon grabbed on to his collar.

"That's why we can't let you go" Shikamaru said.

"I will not let anymore else die" Naruto said. "Take the three bodies somewhere safely (Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Itachi)"

"At least have more people come with you" Gai said. "Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, Ino, Karin, Lee, Shino, and Tenten will go with you. The rest of you will come with me to help carry the bodies back"

"Okay" Naruto said. "Let's go"

**XxXxXxX**

"Your part of the ritual is done now" Mandara said. "You guys need to retrieve the bodies of Deidara and Itachi. We'll give it to Zetsu so Konoha won't have any information about us"

"Yes Mandara-sama" Nagato said. Zetsu and Kisame nodded as they were about to leave. A large attack destroyed part of the first Hokage's face.

"RASEGAN!" The mountain began to shake as rocks fell inside. Mandara had to stop his jutsu as he moved Sakura to safety. Smoke filled the area as Mandara took this as a chance to get out.

"Damn it. You guys handle them" Mandara said as he teleported Sakura and himself inside the third Hokage's head.

"Where is she?" Naruto growled once the smoke subsided. All Naruto could see were Kisame, Nagato, and Zetsu standing there. Mandara and Sakura were nowhere to be seen.

"Like we'd tell you" Kisame said as he took his sword out.

"Don't fuck with me right now!" Naruto shouted as he walked up to Nagato. "Where is Mandara and Sakura-chan?"

"It's too late" Nagato said. "You can't save your friend now"

"Naruto, Sasuke, we can handle them! Go and rescue Sakura!" Shikamaru ordered.

"But-"Naruto began to say.

"Sakura needs you two now!" Ino said.

Naruto and Sasuke nodded as they began to run out.

**XxXxXxX**

"Hello Sakura-chan! That was some act you did. I still can't believe you tried to jump off the roof of your school building." Mandara said.

"G-get away from me" Sakura cried. "This isn't real"

"The ninja world isn't real" Mandara said. "You made up that world on your own. When you ended in a coma, you made that world up. Everything that happened in your ninja world was just a dream. You're back home in the real world now. You must be really confused. That's why I'm here to help you"

"No! NO! You're lying! You tried to kill my friends! You're after Naruto!" Sakura screamed. She couldn't move. Her legs were in a cast as well as her arm.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save your parents. You must have been angry at me and made me a bad guy in your world."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sakura shouted. Mandara sighed.

"Fine. I'll leave you alone to think about things." Mandara left the room as Sakura began to cry.

"**Sakura**" A voice called out to her. Sakura looked up to see part of the hospital room was ripping. She was surprised to see a person that looked like her except that she had darker pink hair and green eyes. Her outfit was also black and white.

"You…" Sakura began to say.

"**I was finally able to get through**" Inner Sakura said. "**We finally get to meet face to face. I'm the voice that has always been talking to you. Don't believe anything in this place. You're right, this isn't real! I think you're the only one who can see me, so it's all good**"

For a few hours, Inner Sakura stayed with her as the hospital door opened.

"Sakura-chan!" A loud voice shouted.

"Shut up, we're in a hospital dobe"

"N-Naruto and Sasuke-kun" Sakura said.

"Everyone is so worried about you" Naruto said. Sakura turned to see that Inner Sakura was still there. Her theory was right. She was the only one who could see her.

"Sasuke's uncle is going to help you. If you don't get help soon, they might put you in an asylum" Naruto said.

Sakura's eyes widened. "A-Asylum? But I'm not crazy"

"You believed we're all ninja, and you almost killed yourself because of it" Sasuke snapped at her.

"Please don't yell at my patient" Mandara said as he entered the room. "Can you two please leave?"

"Yes uncle" Sasuke said as he pulled Naruto out of the room.

"And you" Mandara said looking at Inner Sakura. Inner Sakura and Sakura were shocked.

"**Y-You can see me?**" Inner Sakura asked. "**But the others can't**"

"That's because they're just illusions. I control everything Sakura sees, hears, and feels. So right now, she can't hear a word we're saying."

"**How dare you invade her mind**?" Inner Sakura shouted.

"How dare you invade my illusion" Mandara shouted. "This time, I'll make sure you're not able to get back in. Sakura will tell me what I want to know." With a flick of the hand, Inner Sakura felt herself being thrown out of the illusion. She landed on her back as she found herself staring at a large door. Darkness surrounded her as the only thing she could see was the large white door. Sakura tried to open it, but hit a barrier.

"**Damn him**!" Inner Sakura said as she tried to break the barrier.

Back in the Illusion, Mandara tried to concentrate on his jutsu.

"Who would have known she had something like this in her head. Is this why she was able to escape Itachi's genjutsu so easily?" Mandara asked himself.

"Sakura-chan, I don't want to hurt you. To make it easy on yourself…" Mandara took out a notepad and pencil. "Write what was on the scrolls you destroyed"

Sakura glared at him. "I refuse"

"Sakura-chan. This is for your own good. It will take the pain away. You won't have to worry about it anymore"

"Go to hell!" Sakura shouted at him.

Mandara walked up to Sakura as he placed his hand on her forehead.

Sakura's eyes widened as she found herself in tied in a chair.

"W-Where am I?" Sakura asked.

"You're in the asylum. You don't remember but it's been a month since you've been in the hospital. You've made a great recovery." Mandara said.

"Recovery?" Sakura questioned.

"You fell down from your school's roof. You went a little crazy after that. Your friends are here to see you" Mandara opened the door as she saw Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino enter the room.

"Ino-chan! Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" Sakura cried.

"I'm so glad to see you forehead-girl" Ino said as she hugged her.

"I am too" Sakura said.

"My uncle said you're making a good recovery. You might be able to leave the place one you tell him what was in those scrolls you said you found in your dream. We can use those as a way to help you" Sasuke said as he cupped her face. "I really want to hang out soon. Our group misses you"

"S-Sasuke-kun" Sakura cried.

"Look what you did, Teme! You made Sakura-chan cry" Naruto said as he pushed Sasuke out of the way.

"N-Naruto-kun" Sakura said as she embraced him.

"It's alright now Sakura-chan. I'm here now. I really want to help you, so you have to tell Doctor Uchiha what were on the scrolls you found in your dream" Naruto explained.

"Dream?" Sakura whispered.

"You know the dream where we're all ninjas. We'll help erase that dream world out of your mind" Naruto said with a smile.

"I-I can't" Sakura said. Ino and Sasuke seemed to have disappeared with Mandara as the only people in the room were her and Naruto.

"Can you at least tell me who or what is involved in the scrolls?" Naruto asked.

"It's about you Naruto. And about Sasuke-kun. There's some scrolls about the Kyuubi and an Uchiha member" Sakura said. Naruto let out an evil smile.

"Interesting" Naruto said.

"N-Naruto! I want to get out of here! The doctor scares me. I don't want to be here anymore" Sakura cried.

"You don't have to be!" Naruto said as he went on one knee and cupped her face. "You just need to write down what you remember from the dream world then you can stay here forever"

"B-But, this world isn't real…" Sakura said. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Of course it is" Naruto said. Mandara soon came back into the room.

"Visiting time is over. Please leave my patient" Mandara said as Naruto left the room.

**XxXxXxX**

"She has a very strong will. She's not that easy to break. But I got her to the point where she's confused now" Mandara said to himself as he began to make hand seals. As he did he heard a sound of birds chirping. A ball of charka appeared above Sakura as it created a sort of barrier around her. Slowly Sakura and the barrier began to levitate up in the air just before a loud explosion was heard.

"CHIDORI" Sasuke shouted as lighting like charka still formed around his hand. Naruto and Sasuke saw Mandara standing in the middle of the room with his back to them. They couldn't sense Sakura anywhere.

"Where's Sakura-chan?!" Naruto shouted.

"She really is a tough person to crack, despite her appearance" Mandara said as the two watched his orange mask fall to the ground.

"Mandara…" Sasuke growled as his relative turned around to face them for the first time. He's face was very young, in fact it looked familiar. Sasuke and Naruto could have sworn they saw his face somewhere.

"This isn't my real body. This is the body of your teacher's long dead teammate, Obito Uchiha. My real body wasn't going to last long. Then I ended up finding the body of this little boy. He still had some life in him so I used him as a host. I guess you can call me a parasite?" Mandara said as he grinned evilly.

"Bastard!" Naruto shouted. "Where's Sakura-chan?"

"Right above us" Mandara said. Naruto and Sasuke looked up to see Sakura's body hovering up in the air.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted.

"Sasuke-kun, you're so nice giving me the last puzzle to my plan." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I gave you nothing! You bastard! You killed my family!" Sasuke shouted. Naruto had to hold him back.

"I had everything I needed to take over all 5 countries. All I need back is my pet to help me do that" Mandara said.

"Pet?" Naruto questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"The Kyuubi…" Sasuke muttered.

"I was the one who let the Kyuubi out to Konoha that night. But that Hokage had to get in my way and stop me. He sealed the Kyuubi in a newborn baby that night…his own son."

Naruto's eyes widened. "M-My father?"

"Shut up!" Sasuke shouted.

"You…" Naruto said. Mandara watched as three tails appeared around Naruto,

"N-Naruto…" Sasuke said as he backed away a bit.

"You destroyed so many people's lives. You destroyed mine and Sasuke's. Now you're trying to destroy Sakura-chan's. I can't forgive you!" Naruto shouted. He soon charged at Mandara with so much speed. Mandara was caught off guard as he was thrown to the other side of the wall.

"Is that all the three-tail level can do?" Mandara asked as he got up. "Don't underestimate me"

Naruto watched as he and Sasuke were unable to move. Their surroundings darkened.

"You're in my world now" Mandara said as he disappeared in the darkness. All Naruto could see was purplish black fog all around him. His three-tails stage was gone.

"What is this" Naruto said as he tried to push away the fog. Looking around he saw someone a couple feet away from him. Taking out a kunai, he started to head towards the person he thought to be Mandara. The person began to head towards him as well. Naruto and the shadow jumped at the same time as their weapons clashed together. Naruto's eyes widened to see Sasuke looking at him surprised as well.

"Sasuke" Naruto said as he lowered down his guard. Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke soon pushed him to the ground.

"What the hell Sasuke?" Naruto shouted. He watched as Sasuke caught a kunai in his hand. Looking deeper into the fog, there was one more person with them.

"The fog is getting in the way" Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded as he created a clone and formed Rasegan. The fog soon disappeared as they finally got a closer look to see who was in front of them.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. Sakura was wearing a black halter dress. It stuck out like a tutu at the end of her dress. Her eyes were dead-like. It was like her soul was gone.

Sasuke took out his sword as he aimed as Sakura. Naruto looked at Sasuke shocked.

"Sasuke, what do you think you're doing?" Naruto asked.

"That's not the real Sakura" Sasuke said.

"Huh?" Naruto noticed that Sasuke had activated his Sharingan.

Sakura had stuck her hand out to the side parallel to her body. Slowly a scythe appeared in her hands. Naruto had fallen to his butt as Sakura appeared in front of Sasuke in a blink of an eye as their sword and scythe met. Naruto could see Sasuke slowly being pushed back by the force of Sakura's attack.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said.

"Damn it!" Sasuke muttered as he tried to push Sakura back. With the right amount of charka, he was finally able to as he tried to slice Sakura in the stomach. Sakura quickly dodged it with a few back flips as she landed gracefully on her toes.

"She's good. I thought she'd be weak if Mandara was using Sakura's real strength and skills." Sasuke admitted.

"That isn't nice to say about your fellow leaf ninja" A voice said. Naruto and Sasuke watched to see Mandara walking up behind Sakura.

"Let Sakura go" Naruto said.

"Stop the genjutsu and fight us for real" Sasuke demanded.

"Who said anything about this being a genjutsu?" Mandara asked as he tilted his head to the side. "This is the real Sakura-chan. I'm just controlling her like a puppet" To prove his point, Mandara moved his hands as Sakura began to move along with his.

This pissed Naruto off more, his first tail began to come out.

"Sakura-chan has powers that no one ever imagined. With my help, I could make her the strongest ninja of all 5 countries. She never opened her powers yet and I bet she never knew all the great things she could do. She may be able to destroy all 5 countries if she wanted to. I want her" Mandara said.

"Don't touch her" Sasuke shouted.

"Like this?" Mandara asked as he brought Sakura's body closer to his as he licked her jaw line. Sasuke could feel his blood boiling. His eyes widened. He couldn't transform into his cursed seal anymore. Itachi had defeated Orochimaru which meant that his cursed seal was gone.

Sasuke felt Naruto head towards Mandara with so much charka. Naruto was going to fight Mandara to the death. Sasuke's eyes soon flickered over to Sakura. That meant that he was going to fight her.

"Come at me with all you got Sakura" Sasuke said with a smirk as Sakura brought her scythe in front of her and held it tightly. She soon jumped towards him as her scythe hit the ground.

"You missed" Sasuke said. Sakura didn't say anything as the ground began to crack. Sasuke jumped in the air as a large crater appeared. Before he knew it, Sakura appeared in front of him as she kicked him down to the ground. Sasuke rolled around in the ground as he coughed out blood.

"I shouldn't underestimate her. If I do, she can actually kill me" Sasuke said as he wiped the blood away from his mouth. Looking around he could see one of Naruto's tails throwing Mandara around. It seemed like an endless battle between the two. Sasuke sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Sasuke asked himself.

**XxXxXxX**

Minutes passed as Gai and the others continued with their battles. They were able to take down Nagato and Zetsu, but having Tenten, Neji, Shino and Lee injured. Ino and Karin had rushed to help heal them. Ino looked up to see Shikamaru barely dodge Kisame's attack.

"S-Shikamaru…" Ino whispered as she was healing Lee.

"He'll be fine. He was able to take down an immortal person right?" Karin said as she finished healing Shino. Tenten and Neji were already taken care of.

"Yeah" Ino said as she nodded. "I wonder how Naruto and Sasuke are doing."

Karin was about to answer but stopped when Kisame was thrown to the side of her. She slowly turned around to see Shikamaru's shadow jitsu bind him as Gai finished him off with his 6th gate.

"Shikamaru! You two did it!" Ino said as she flung herself to Shikamaru.

"Karin, you stay here and watch over the others, Ino and I will go to Naruto and Sasuke" Shikamaru said. Karin fixed her glasses as she nodded.

"Let's go" Ino said as she and Shikamaru began to leave the first Hokage's head and headed to the third's.

When they got there, Ino was shocked to see Sakura's body levitating up in the air.

"Sakura!" Ino called. She got no response. Shikamaru looked over ahead to a large dark sphere. He could sense Naruto and Sasuke inside it and they were fighting Mandara. The only thing that bugged him was that he could also sense Sakura's charka in there as well but she was up there.

"Ino, go and bring Sakura down" Shikamaru ordered. Ino already ran up the wall and grabbed her best friend and laid her gently on the ground.

"Sakura, can you hear me? It's Ino" Ino said as she gently shook Sakura.

"How is she?" Shikamaru asked still analyzing the sphere.

"She's not responding. It's like she is in a trance or coma" Ino said.

"Having Neji or Hinata here would be a good help. Maybe they could see what's happening inside." Shikamaru said. As if on cue, Hinata and Yamato arrived.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ino asked. Hinata noticed Sakura on the floor as she ran to them.

"Naruto entered his fifth tail stage" Yamato said as he showed the number 4 on his hand.

"Hinata, can you use your Byakugan to check what's happening inside the sphere?" Shikamaru asked. Hinata nodded as she activated her Byakugan and went closer to the sphere.

After a few seconds, a gasp was heard from her. Shikamaru watched as Hinata took a few steps back then looked at Sakura surprised, back to the sphere, then back at Sakura.

"I-I don't understand" Hinata muttered.

"What did you see?" Yamato asked.

"I saw Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun. Naruto-kun is fighting Mandara but there's this wild charka surrounding Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

"The nine-tails…" Yamato said. "Then I see Sasuke fighting someone."

"Who else could have been in the sphere?" Ino asked.

"I see Sakura-chan fighting Sasuke-kun…" Hinata said. Shikamaru closed his eyes. So he did sense Sakura's chakra in the sphere. Ino's eyes widened as she looked at the sphere then her best friend that was in her arms.

"H-How is that possible?" Ino asked.

"I don't know" Hinata said.

"The only way to break the sphere if for the others to defeat Mandara" Yamato said.

"How many tails can Naruto control?" Shikamaru asked.

Everyone watched as Yamato looked at his palm. On his hand the number 6 showed.

"Seven"

**XxXxXxX**

Sasuke kept on dodging all of Sakura's attacks. "Sakura, snap out of it. I don't want to fight you!"

Sakura said nothing as she continued to try to slice Sasuke with her scythe. Sasuke finally took his sword and removed the scythe from Sakura's hands. It slid a couple feet away from them. Sakura just stared at it as she began to move for it but Sasuke moved quickly as he tackled her to the ground. Her hands were on her back as Sasuke sat on her.

"Stop it Sakura!" Sasuke said. He noticed that Sakura was paying attention to Naruto who was fighting Mandara. "Naruto is fighting hard to protect you. You're not weak! You have to break out of this genjutsu or whatever he put you under. You're not weak"

Sakura soon vanished into smoke.

"Damn, you destroyed it" Mandara said as he had dodged Naruto's punch. "Seemed realistic didn't she? That is just a little preview of what I can do to Sakura-chan. She has the power to save 1,000 lives with just a touch of her finger or she can do the opposite and kill them. She just never opened up her powers. Let me have her. She's just a burden to you all, right?"

"I won't let you" Naruto growled. Sasuke could feel enormous energy flowing in Naruto. "I won't let you have her!" Naruto grabbed Mandara by the head with one of his tails as another grabbed him by the feet. Mandara soon felt Naruto's chest against his back.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Use your sword to end it"

"What!?" Sasuke said surprised.

"I can hold him for a while. This will end it. Once you do, get Sakura-chan and get out of here as I finish this" Naruto said.

"Don't be a fool" Mandara growled. "You're going to sacrifice yourself for just this girl?"

"She's not just a girl!" Naruto shouted at him. "I LOVE HER"

Sasuke's eyes widened before it went back to normal. "Of course…" Sasuke said as he took out his sword. He aimed it at Mandara and Naruto. Sasuke soon charged at him with lighting speed at the sword pierced both Naruto and Mandara.

"Take Sakura-chan, please…" Naruto said as he coughed out blood. The sphere disappeared as they noticed the others in the room.

"D-Damn you…" Mandara said.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata cried out as she and Ino rushed over to him. Sasuke stopped them and carried them out of the area.

"Shikamaru, get Sakura-chan and leave" Sasuke said.

"What? What about Naruto?"

"JUST DO IT!" Sasuke said. Yamato and Sasuke had already left with the girls.

Shikamaru could feel the whole place began to crumble do to the chakra Naruto was giving off. He slowly backed away as he watched Mandara and Naruto face each other off in what seemed to be a final battle.

"Damn it. Naruto, you better make it out alive" Shikamaru shouted. He saw Naruto nod his head.

"Protect Sakura-chan" Naruto said.

"Got it" Shikamaru turned around as he lifted Sakura in his arms as they left the room before the rocks caved in leaving Naruto and Mandara trapped in the room.

**-**

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Oh man! The NarutoMandara face off is coming up soon! They finally saved Sakura from the Mandara's evil clutches. Don't know how the battle is going to end, but let's hope it turns out good. Thank you for reading my story so far. Please review everyone!

-Kumiko


	22. Chapter 22

**Yea! Another update. My junior year is soon coming to an end. I just have to worry finals! Big whoop. How are you guys liking the story so far. I haven't been getting much responses from the readers and it leaves me curious whether it's good or not. Well anyways, let's continue on with the story.**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

"_Shikamaru, get Sakura-chan and leave" Sasuke said._

"_What? What about Naruto?" _

"_JUST DO IT!" Sasuke said. Yamato and Sasuke had already left with the girls._

_Shikamaru could feel the whole place began to crumble do to the chakra Naruto was giving off. He slowly backed away as he watched Mandara and Naruto face each other off in what seemed to be a final battle._

"_Damn it. Naruto, you better make it out alive" Shikamaru shouted. He saw Naruto nod his head._

"_Protect Sakura-chan" Naruto said._

"_Got it" Shikamaru turned around as he lifted Sakura in his arms as they left the room before the rocks caved in leaving Naruto and Mandara trapped in the room._

**XxXxXxXxX**

Shikamaru met the others in the 1st Hokage's head. He looked down in his arms to see Sakura still wasn't waking up. He noticed a faint field of charka around her.

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Lee asked.

"He's fighting Madara right now" Shikamaru said. "Ino, Hinata, I need you guys to check over Sakura."

Ino immediately rushed over to her best friend as her hands had a green light surrounding them. Moving her hands over Sakura's body, she soon stopped as a gasp was heard from her. That scared Sasuke as he ran over to Ino and Sakura.

"What happened, Yamanaka?" Sasuke asked.

Ino didn't respond. She couldn't. Ignoring Sasuke, she rested her right ear on top of Sakura's chest as if trying to hear her heart beat. Her eyes widened. Sakura's heart beats was slowing down as time passed by.

"Hinata!" Ino shouted. "Use your Byakugan and look over her"

Hinata nodded as she did what she was told. A few minutes later, her eyes widened.

"Do you see it?" Ino asked. Hinata nodded.

"Ino, what happened?" Tenten asked.

"Sakura's legs and arm are broken. The way it's shattered, it's like she fell off a school building or something. I don't have enough charka to heal them. It seems like she's is in some sort of a trance or mind jitsu. I can't break it with medical jutsu. That's not even the worse part. The more Sakura is in this jutsu, the more her heartbeats weaken. Whatever happens in the jutsu, it actually happens to her here. It seems like Sakura is trying to break the jutsu herself and is ending up using her life source instead of charka. I was able to stop her from doing that. I-I don't know what to do anymore" Ino said as she was on the verge of crying.

"Ino…" Shikamaru said as he held her.

"So you mean if Sakura died in the jutsu…" Neji didn't finish his sentence.

"She'd die here…" Lee finished for him.

"Madara…" Sasuke said. "He must have used our clan's secret jutsu. It was said that the true heir of the Uchiha clan had the power to mess up a person's mind in order to get information or just to mess around with them. That's what he's doing to Sakura."

"Naruto-kun just has to defeat Madara in order to save Sakura-chan right?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked.

"The person who places the jutsu can't reverse it. He can stop the jutsu but he can't erase the effects of being under the jutsu. Even if he stopped the jutsu, the person is stuck in it forever. The only way to escape it is to die. Someone can kill you to stop it or you can kill yourself…" Sasuke said.

"NO!" Ino shouted. "NO! NO! NO! I won't allow this. This can't be happening!"

"Naruto is fighting the leader on his own?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, he wanted all of us to leave the area so he can have his final battle with Madara." Shikamaru said. "He wants us to get Sakura out of here"

Sasuke took a step back as he turned his back on them. "Yamanaka, come with me" Sasuke lifted Ino up in the air.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked as he grabbed Ino by the waist.

"I'm going back to help Naruto. He can't beat Mandara alone. Ino can heal us if one of us get's injured." Sasuke said.

"No! I'm not going to let you put my girlfriend's life in jeopardy. If you need a healer, bring Karin with you" Shikamaru said. He soon felt Ino tug herself away. "Ino…"

"I-I want to go with Sasuke. Sakura needs me…" Ino said. Shikamaru looked at her for a while before closing his eyes.

"Okay…" Shikamaru said. "But Shizune is going with you two"

"Eh?" Everyone said. As if on cue, Shizune made it inside the mountain.

"Is everyone alright?" Shizune asked.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Naruto and Mandara stared each other down as Madara smirked at him.

"How kind of you; letting your friends escape so we can have our one-on-one battle. Just to let you know, you won't win. I'll destroy you, take back my Kyuubi, and then destroy Konoha"

"I won't let you!" Naruto said. His seventh tail was out as he knew he had finally reached his limit of control. If his eighth tail came out, he knew he couldn't control himself.

"You're about to reach your limit, aren't you?" Madara asked.

"S-Shut up!" Naruto said. "I'll finish you off before the eighth tail comes out. I'll defeat you and break Sakura-chan out of that jutsu you put her in"

Madara began to laugh at Naruto words. "Stupid child, you can't save Sakura-chan. She's already being consumed by the darkness. A beautiful cherry blossom gets its colors from the blood of the corpse beneath it. Why not test out the theory?"

"You bastard!" Naruto shouted as he flew and punched Madara to the ground. "I won't let her die!"

Madara laughed again. "It's too late. Even if you kill me, it won't stop the effects of the jutsu I placed on her. She's trying to fight her losing-battle in her mind. She soon won't be able to tell reality from what is something I made up in her mind. Whatever happens to her body in the jutsu happens to her in this world. Just a while ago, she jumped off a cliff to prove that she was a ninja. She ended up breaking many bones actually." Madara finished saying with a wicked smile.

"Shut up! I know there's a fucking way to save her. I'm going to beat the crap out of you until I get the answer!"

"Bring it" Madara said as he activated his Sharingan. "You're no match for me, if you forgot, I can control the Kyuubi. It takes the person who can really achieve control of the Sharingan to defeat me. Itachi is already dead, so there's no hope"

"You forgot about me, you bastard!" Sasuke shouted as he charged at Madara with Chidori. Naruto looked to see Shizune and Ino right behind Sasuke from Tsunade's head statue.

"What are you three doing? I told you guys to run away!" Naruto shouted.

"Ha! Yeah right, Naruto. Sakura is special to all of us too" Ino said.

"Heh, you guys can all die by my hands!" Madara said as Naruto formed Rasegan and charged at him. His eyes widened when he phased right through Madara.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "The hell…?"

Shizune let out smoke from her mouth as she began to run around Madara as she spit out poison senbon. Madara flipped around as Naruto's tails tried to grab him. Sasuke and Ino tried to make a jump for him but the ground under Madara began to turn into sand as he dug under like a mole. Ino and Sasuke hit heads as Naruto looked around to see where he'd pop up next.

The sound of the ground being destroyed was heard as Madara appeared behind Shizune. He had his hand on her head tightly as he took a sword out and place it tight on her throat.

"Let her go!" Naruto shouted.

"Shizune!" Ino cried out.

Madara smirked as he cut a little of Shizune's skin, making the blood drip down.

Ino saw Naruto shaking violently. "Naruto, control yourself"

"Tell me what were in the scrolls Sakura-chan found on her last mission" Madara asked. The sudden question surprised everyone.

"…I don't know what you're talking about" Shizune said bravely.

"Really? Let me remind you. Sakura-chan went into our base when we kidnapped that boy from the fire country. She made a deal with Deidara to go into Itachi's room and take a box that Itachi was supposedly hiding." Sasuke's eyes widened at the name of his dead brother.

"It was rumored that there were valuable information about the Kyuubi and some of the Uchiha scrolls. After taking back the boy with her group, our team went after them. I had to fight against the Hyuga boy. The boy fell off the cliff as Sakura went after him. She also began to fall off as that guy, the strategist, dived after her as the others tried to pull them back up. The rope was ripping due to the weather and the weight. She sacrificed herself so her teammate and the boy can go back up the cliff."

Everyone was silent as they waited for Madara to finish his story. They never knew what really happened when Sakura went back to Akatsuki's base.

"She decided to fall into the deep freezing ocean because **she wanted to change. She didn't want to be the weak person that burdened everyone, even her own teammates and enemy."**

Sasuke's eyes widened as he clenched his fists. Those were the words he whispered to Sakura that one day.

_Sasuke turned around to face his attention to Sakura. He frowned, she was about to fall off a cliff. He headed towards her as Sai tried to get up._

"_D-Don't touch her traitor!" Sai said._

_Naruto's eyes widened and turned red. _

'_**The girl is getting in the way kid. She's a burden'**_

_Sasuke had grabbed Sakura by the hand and lifted her up before she fell. "You never change. You're still weak and a burden to everyone. Even your teammates and enemy" Sasuke whispered in her ear as he threw her. _

Madara soon continued. "She wanted to get stronger to save her precious Sasuke-kun from Orochimaru's clutches. But she was weak, wasn't she Naruto-kun? Wasn't it all her fault? If it weren't for her, you guys could have brought back Sasuke with you guys on that mission, but she had to get in the way. **'You're a burden to the team! That's why Sasuke left!'** Wasn't that what you said to her when you failed to retrieve Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto's eyes widened. How did he know about that?

_Sasuke just stared at Naruto and Sakura as he disappeared into flames. Naruto had ran and tried to stop him, but ended up grabbing air. They had lost Sasuke once again. Anger had filled his body and mind. Soon his anger was directed to Sakura. Kakashi and Yamato had helped Sai up as they walked to Naruto and Sakura._

"_N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered as she tried to heal him but he slapped her hand away._

"_Don't touch me!" Naruto growled. Sakura's eyes widened. _

"_W-What?"_

"_It's your entire fault!" Naruto shouted. He had his fists by his sides. "If it weren't for you, we could have had Sasuke here with us, but you had to get in the way! You're a burden to the team! That's why Sasuke left!" Naruto breathed heavily as he turned around_

Sasuke and Ino looked at Naruto surprised. Naruto said that to Sakura?

"After you told that to her, she said she would have expected this from anyone but you. You were supposed to be the best friend, the person she could trust, the person she knew would always be there for her. Sasuke broke her heart before and you began to break it more."

"Shut up!" Naruto said.

Madara didn't listen to him. "Still, she even tried to sneak back into our base to find a way to protect you guys. Having been hurt by two of the people she cared for more in the entire world, she still tried to save you guys." Ino saw Madara stare at her. "She didn't want her friends to think bad of her anymore and say hurtful stuff like this **'You're so useless, why was I ever friends with such a person'**, like what the third person to hurt her said"

_The boxes fell to the floor and so did a vase._

"_What the hell!" Ino shouted as she ran to her living room. Ino saw the broken vase as she began to cry._

"_Look what you did!" Ino shouted at Sakura. "This belonged to Asuma-sensei! This is the only thing I have of his! You're so useless, why was I ever friends with such a person"_

Madara smiled evilly when he got the reactions he wanted from Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino. "She still snuck into Itachi's room, even though she knew she could be risking her life. She still did it if she knew it would be a way to help her precious Naruto and Sasuke-kun"

"Y-You don't know what y-you're talking about!" Sasuke shouted as he fell to his knees. The pain in his heart was overwhelming. "You don't know her!"

"You don't know her either" Madara said. "You left her on that bench 3 years ago. You haven't seen her since then until Naruto-kun brought you back into the village. You never knew how she felt since then. You never knew how she felt when you left her on that bench. You never knew how she felt when Naruto-kun left her to train for 3 years. You never knew how she felt when Kakashi left her alone. Everyone kept leaving her. The darkness in her heart grew."

"How do you know all this?" Shizune asked. The grip Madara had on her head loosened.

"I went through her mind" Madara said. "And she called you three her best friends. Pathetic, really. I guess that's how she is, huh? Itachi caught her when she found that box with all the scrolls. I was actually there the whole time…watching her. Let me tell you what happened on her mission when Itachi found her…"

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura tried to catch her breath as she made it back to the base. Moving as quietly as she could, she ended up at the intersection.

"Which way did I go again?" Sakura closed her eyes as she remembered Neji going west, Lee went east and Shikamaru with south. So she went north.

After successfully passing by Deidara's room without getting caught, she tried going the way Deidara showed her. After a couple minutes, she found the room she was looking for; a room at the end of the hallway.

Opening the door, it looked like no one was in the room since she couldn't find any charka. She used the hallway's lighting as light as she entered the room. She went back to the drawer in the room as she opened it. She grabbed a couple more scrolls into her back. She noticed it was scrolls about the Sharingan and the Uchiha clan.

She then looked to see a smaller box inside. She then remembered what Deidara told her.

**Flashback**

"_I want you to go into a certain room. There's a black and red drawer in there had holds scrolls. But there's a small box inside, and I want it."_

"_What's so important about a box" Sakura asked._

"_There's a rumor going around that it has information about your demon friend"_

**End of Flashback**

"This must be it!" Sakura whispered as her thoughts drifted to Naruto.

'_Naruto., now I can protect and save you for once. With this, I can free you. Wouldn't that be nice? You always protected me because you said I was the most important person to you. I want to save you because…because I lo-'_

Sakura's thoughts were cut short as she felt hand on top of her hands and the box. Her blood turned cold. Slowly turning her head up, she saw red eyes.

"I-Itachi…Uchiha…" Sakura whispered. She felt a shiver down her spine once she said his name.

"What are you doing in my room, kunoichi?" Itachi asked.

'_His room? He's always after Naruto, so it would make sense that he would have all those scrolls.'_ Sakura stared deeply into the hypnotizing eyes.

'_Naruto…'_ Naruto's smiling face was the last thing in her mind as she fell into darkness. Sakura had fallen into Itachi's arms as he carried her bridal style.

"Oh! Oh! Itachi, you found a girl! And a pretty one too!" Tobi said as he ran up to Sakura who was in Itachi's hands.

"Hn…" Itachi said. "Were you watching her the whole time?"

"Can Tobi hold her?" Tobi asked as Itachi glared at him.

"Why so protective of her?" Tobi asked. "Does she mean something to you Itachi?"

"…She's on the same team as the nine-tails and my little brother" Itachi said in his monotone voice. "She defeated Sasori. She's strong and an important person to Konoha. She'll be good bait for them"

"Are you sure there's no hidden motive?" Tobi asked. Itachi looked at Tobi.

"Why are you so interested in this girl?" Itachi asked. "Just leave her to me"

"She's powerful. Tobi can tell! Give her to Tobi; Tobi will give her to Leader!" Tobi said.

"So the girl actually came back here!" Deidara said as he came back from the kitchen. "You're giving her the box Itachi?"

"Hn…"

"Can I see what's in it, un?" Deidara said.

"It's just pointless medical jutsu" Itachi said. "I've already tried them; I'll just give it to her"

"You're just giving it to her because the scrolls couldn't help you heal your eyes?" Tobi asked.

Itachi had stopped walking as he stared at Tobi.

"Heal your eyes? Are you going blind Itachi, un?" Deidara asked.

Itachi didn't say anything as he whispered something to Deidara.

"Watch yourself with this one. Here, you take the kunoichi to the dungeon. Make sure no one touches her except for you and me" Itachi said as he handed Sakura over to Deidara.

"Whatever, un." Deidara said as he walked away.

"How did you know about that?" Itachi asked as he pushed Tobi to the nearest wall.

"How can I not know about your clan's secrets?" Tobi asked. Itachi could feel the smirk under his mask.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked. He knew something was wrong when this guy joined Akatsuki.

"You'll find the answers to all your questions when the time comes" Tobi said. "Now, if you excuse me, I have some business to attend"

"Stay away from her" Itachi warned. "I better not see you with her"

"Haha, don't worry, you won't" Tobi said as he left.

A few days later, Tobi snuck around the base with a tray of food. When he entered the room Sakura was in, he saw her talking to herself in a corner.

Sakura cursed herself that she had gotten herself into this predicament. She heard the sound of her cellar opening.

"Hello! Tobi brought you food" Tobi said as he entered the cellar. He took this chance to look at the girl, she was pretty. She had pink hair too.

"Thanks…" Sakura said as she looked at the food Tobi was holding. She was wondering why he was speaking in third person.

"Why aren't you eating?" Tobi asked.

"Why bring an enemy food? Besides you guys probably poisoned it" Sakura said.

"Tobi was told to not come and visit you. But Tobi knows that you haven't eating anything in days. Tobi doesn't want you to die. Tobi wants to be friends with you" Tobi answered as he smiled though she couldn't tell due to his mask. "Can Tobi be friends with you?"

Sakura stared at the guy like he was insane. Was he really in Akatsuki?

"Sure" Sakura said weakly.

"What's your name?" Tobi asked as he looked at her hair. "Is it your real hair color?"

Sakura sighed. "My name is Sakura and yes it's my real hair color!"

"It suits you…Sakura-chan" Tobi said happily.

"Thanks?" Sakura said. Her was calling her 'Sakura-chan' already? "Why do you wear a mask?"

"It makes Tobi mysterious" Tobi said with a thumb up.

Sakura began to laugh. Tobi's posture reminded her of Lee.

"Well, Tobi had to go now. See you soon Sakura-chan" Tobi said.

"Bye" Sakura said as he left as she began to eat the food on the tray.

---

A week later, Itachi and Kisame was sent on a mission.

"See you later Kisame!" Tobi said as he waved goodbye. "…Itachi!"

Itachi glared at him as he looked over at Deidara who nodded back. Deidara could feel it too. Something wasn't right with Tobi.

"Well, Tobi is going to walk around" Tobi said as he left Deidara who closed the door.

"Hm, better get some food for Sakura, un" Deidara said.

Deidara walked down to the dungeon as he opened the door to see Sakura chained to the wall. He could feel her intense glare towards him.

"Hey, here's your food. Don't worry; Itachi went on a mission, un." Deidara said.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked as she felt Deidara touch her wrists.

"Removing your chains. How else are you doing to eat? Like hell I'm going to feed you. No funny stuff, got it, un?" Deidara said as Sakura felt the chains drops.

Deidara watched Sakura intensely as she ate. "Still can't believe you actually went to get the scrolls from Itachi's room. You got guts, un"

"You did say that the scrolls had information about Naruto…" Sakura said.

"Naruto? Oh! You mean the Nine-tails demon, un"

"NO! HIS NAME IS NARUTO! NOT NINE-TAILS!" Sakura shouted.

She breathed heavily as Deidara snickered. "What, are you in love with him or something, un?"

Deidara watched as a tear hit the floor as more followed. He could see her trying to stop herself from crying. Deidara sighed as he pulled her close to his chest. Even though he had killed many people, he felt bad seeing her cry for some reason. It irked it.

"Sorry, un…" Deidara said. For some reason, he could feel her hair touch his face.

"I'm sorry" Sakura said as Deidara watched her get up with a smirked. Deidara couldn't control his body.

"W-What did you do to me, bitch? Un" Deidara asked.

"I sent charka through my hair to immobilize you, while I make my way out." Sakura said as she grabbed the box that was on the corner of the room. Before Sakura could make her leave, she stopped.

"Thanks though…" Sakura said confusing Deidara. "…for comforting me. Those were real tears by the way" She finished saying with a smile. She soon ran out, bumping into something with Sharingan eyes.

"I-Itachi!" Sakura said shocked as she fell on her butt.

"Itachi, un" Deidara muttered.

"I had a feeling something like this would happen" Itachi said as he knocked out Sakura again.

----

Sakura woke up to see herself tied up in a chair. "Damn it, I got caught again"

"You're awake now, kunoichi?" Itachi asked.

"Let me go" Sakura ordered. She looked around the room to see Tobi sitting in the corner as well, watching her.

Itachi smacked her on the face. "Know your place, you little brat"

Itachi continued to beat Sakura as Sakura argued and fought back. After a while, she broke.

"P-Please stop…" Sakura's voice sounded like she gave up. Blood was all over the floor as Sakura herself was covered in it.

"I'm amazed at how strong you got, being able to sneak into the base and making it into my room without getting caught. No one was supposed to know about that box. Now how can someone like you know about?" Itachi asked as he stabbed Sakura in the stomach.

'**Just tell him it was Deidara…' **Inner Sakura said.

Sakura said nothing as Itachi grabbed her chin to make her look at him.

"Answer me Kunoichi, or does Naruto-kun mean nothing to you" Sakura glared at him as she spit the blood in her mouth onto his face.

"Bitch" Itachi said as he slapped her across the face. He soon forced her to look into his eyes as his eyes seemed to be spinning. "For the next 72 hours, you will nothing but pain and suffering" Itachi said as Sakura screamed in pain.

Tobi watched as Sakura fell unconscious. "How boring…"

A few minutes later, Tobi watched Itachi fall to his knees. Under his mask, he smirked. "Interesting! Sakura-chan seems to be resisting the Mangekyou"

Itachi soon fell back as he seemed to have trouble breathing.

"What happened, Itachi?" Tobi asked.

"…I lost control of my charka" Tobi narrowed his eyes as he heard the hesitation in his voice. What was Itachi hiding?

**XxXxXxX**

Madara stared at the others. "You can pretty much guess what happened"

"Inner Sakura kicked Itachi's ass" Ino said with a smirk.

"Inner Sakura?" Naruto and Sasuke questioned.

"Naruto, you were there. At our chunin exams, when Sakura and I were battling. Sakura shouldn't have been able to beat my jitsu. I was supposed to win, but Inner Sakura came in and stopped him. You woke her up when you shouted at Sakura to not give up" Ino said with a smile.

"I remember. Sakura-chan is strong, it takes a lot to take her down" Naruto said grinning. Sasuke didn't say anything. He felt guilty actually for always putting Sakura down when they were younger.

"I made sure that Inner Sakura didn't interrupt my plans now. Right now, she's watching helplessly as Sakura falls deeper into the darkness. Let her be, she'll be happy in the end. I'm doing her a great favor." Madara grinned. "Now, once again…"

Shizune felt Madara's grip tighten.

"What were in the scrolls? You'll help Sakura-chan. She won't be going through the endless torture in my jitsu. You care about her, don't you?" Madara asked.

Shizune's eyes widened.

"Don't believe him!" Naruto shouted as he gripped his heart. He could feel his eighth tail fighting to come out. "Sakura-chan is strong; she won't let Madara get away with this!"

"Fuck off" Shizune said to Madara. Madara narrowed his eyes as he raised his hands around Shizune's head and twisted it, breaking her neck.

Ino covered her mouth in shock as Naruto was shaking uncontrollability.

"Y-You! You'll regret messing with our lives." Naruto roared as bones hovering over his body began to be covered. The true form of the 8th tail began to show.

**XxXxXxXxX**

A fox like roar echoed through the mountain as it shook once again.

Yamato looked at his hand to see the number 8 on his hand.

"Eighth tail!" Yamato said shocked.

"Wha-"Karin couldn't finish her question as the place began to shake.

"We have to get out of here!" Neji said. "This place is going to collapse!"

"I can't leave Ino here!" Shikamaru said.

"This place is going to fall on us" Shino said.

"Don't worry. Ino had Naruto and Sasuke to protect her" Tenten said. "Give her more credit"

Shikamaru was silent for a bit before he nodded. "Neji, carry Sakura out of here. Tenten and Lee will go with you to cover you just in case another enemy attacks.

Neji nodded as he carefully lifted Sakura and left with the rest of his team following him.

"Hinata, can you look ahead and tell me what's going on at the moment?" Shikamaru asked. Hinata nodded.

"Of course" Hinata was silent for a few minutes. Shikamaru's eyes widened when he noticed her eyes widened.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Yamato asked.

"N-Naruto-kun and the leader are really at it" Hinata said. Shikamaru could tell she was stalling to hide something. Was Ino hurt?

"How's Ino?" Shikamaru asked hoping for a positive answer.

"S-She's fine, Sasuke-kun is protecting her…" Hinata choked out. She was trying to hold in her tears. "S-she's trying to heal Shizune…"

"What happened to her?" Karin asked.

"S-She's dead…" Hinata said.

"Damn it" Yamato said. He was still hurting from losing Kakashi.

"We…we just have to trust Naruto" Shikamaru said. Everyone spread out around the villager and look for any survivors. Tsunade-sama has her hands full with trying to heal everyone in the village with her slugs. We need to bring these Akatsuki members. They'll be knocked out for a while"

"B-But Sasuke-kun!" Karin began to say.

"Karin, we have to protect this village and Sakura" Suigetsu said.

"Everyone knows what to do right?"

Everyone nodded as they left leaving Shikamaru to be the last one starting back inside the cave.

"Naruto, I trust everything on you" Shikamaru said as he left.

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**Shizune! She was one of my favorite characters in Naruto. Damn it, everyone's dying! The current chapters of Naruto are boring though. All Nagato and Naruto do is talk about Nagato's past etc. That was boring, so I put him out of the story and put on what I believe would have happened. It's like out of nowhere Nagato believes in Naruto when Naruto says the same thing that Jiraiya did. (Sigh). Now Nagato is going to do some jitsu. Can't wait to see what it is. Sorry for the spoiler everyone. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.**

**-Kumiko**


	23. Chapter 23

**Whoo! School is almost over! Just one more week! Finals though…ugh. So I wanted to update this chapter while I still have time. I'm going to be very busy over the summer, but I'll try my best to update. Let's go on with the story.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_We…we just have to trust Naruto" Shikamaru said. Everyone spread out around the villager and look for any survivors. Tsunade-sama has her hands full with trying to heal everyone in the village with her slugs. We need to bring these Akatsuki members. They'll be knocked out for a while"_

"_B-But Sasuke-kun!" Karin began to say._

"_Karin, we have to protect this village and Sakura" Suigetsu said._

"_Everyone knows what to do right?"_

_Everyone nodded as they left leaving Shikamaru to be the last one starting back inside the cave. _

"_Naruto, I trust everything on you" Shikamaru said as he left._

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura stared silently in her room. Everything she saw was darkness. The only light in the room was the light on top of her and the door showing the light in the hallway.

She didn't know what to believe anymore. The ninja world had to be a dream, right? This is why she couldn't use charka here. Did everything she went through in her past 16 years a dream?

"Sakura-chan" A voice said in the dark. Sakura tiredly looked up. Madara smiled at her when he could sense her state of confusion. She was breaking.

"Everyone misses you at school, Sakura-chan" Madara said as he began to touch her long pink hair. "Do you want to go back?"

Madara watched as Sakura began to cry and nod her head. She soon grabbed onto his shirt.

"I-I don't like it here. Please take me out of this room. Ninja aren't real. I want to go back living my normal life!" Sakura cried.

"All you have to do is write what you read in the scrolls in your dream world. Then the nice doctors and I can analyze it and figure out a way to save you from you dream world. You'll go back to being a normal girl. You'd love to go back to Naruto-kun right?" Madara asked as he stroke her head.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura began to say. "Where's Naruto?"

"I'm right here Sakura-chan" Naruto's voice echoed. Sakura looked around and saw Naruto walking up to her.

"N-Naruto!" Sakura cried as Naruto came and hugged her.

"I'm here Sakura-chan. You can trust me, I'll protect you" Naruto said. Madara soon handed Naruto a pad and pencil. "All you have to do is write were on the scrolls…"

Sakura didn't say anything for a while. But when she did, all Madara could do was smile.

"If it's for you Naruto, I will" Sakura said with a light blush on her face as she took the pencil and pad.

"Thank you Sakura-chan, you're the best" Naruto said as he smiled at her.

Inner Sakura growled from outside the dream world. She couldn't let Sakura fall deeper into Madara's power. If this continued on, Sakura would have to use the powers Madara talked about earlier. A plan soon came into her mind. She knew the only way to stop Madara's progress was to defeat him and she knew how.

**XxXxXxX**

Tsunade looked at her wrinkly hands as she released her jutsu. She was at her limits.

"Hokage-sama! Someone is coming this way!" one of them exclaimed.

Tsunade looked up to see Neji, Lee, and Tenten heading towards them. In Neji's arms was Sakura.

"Tsunade-sama!" Tenten cried. "Help her!"

"I-I can't" Tsunade said. Tenten was shocked when she saw Tsunade's appearance. Her skin was pale and wrinkly. It was like most of her life source was sucked out of her.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san, and Ino-san are fighting Madara right now" Lee said.

"Shizune died" Neji said. Tsunade's eyes widened as tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"Damn it!" Tsunade said.

Tenten began to notice that Sakura was beginning to glow.

"S-Sakura?" Tenten whispered. Neji looked down to see white markings beginning to form across Sakura's forehead.

"Inner Sakura" He began to read out loud. Sakura's hair color began to change into a darker one. Her outfit turned black and white as well. Her eyes soon snapped opened as she looked around. The first thing she saw was everyone looking at her weirdly.

"What?" Inner Sakura questioned as she removed herself from Neji's hold.

"Who are you?" Lee asked. "And what have you done with Sakura-san's body?"

"I am Sakura you idiot" Inner Sakura said. "Shishou, you can relax now. I can help everyone right now. I know Sakura probably told you about hearing voices in her head right?" She watched as Tsunade weakly nodded her head. "Well that's me. I don't know how long I can take over Sakura's body. Look, Sakura is trapped in a dream world that Madara created. He's trying to find out what were in the scrolls she found on her last mission. He's almost succeeding. I have to defeat Madara before his dream world can progress any further."

"Why is Madara after her?" Tenten asked.

"The Haruno clan…" Tsunade began to say. "I wasn't sure about it because I've never seen it in her parents. But on Christmas, Sakura's grandma came up to me and told me about Sakura and her clan.

**(A/N: If you don't remember go back to chapter 15)**

The Haruno clan was a clan of healers. They had perfect charka control and were great at healing. They say that as each generation passes by, their power becomes stronger." Tsunade paused as she tried to catch her breath. "The power skipped Sakura's grandma's grandparents to Sakura's mom. The Haruno clan thought they lost their powers, but it suddenly appeared in Sakura. Danzou must have found that out and made a deal with Madara, that bastard. But Sakura, I forbid you to go fight-"

"Too late" Tenten said. "She already left"

"We were able to capture the rest of the Akatsuki members!" Gai said as his group dropped the unconscious bodies of Nagato, Kisame, and Zetsu.

"Where's Sakura?" Shikamaru asked when he couldn't see her anywhere.

"She went to fight Madara" Lee said.

"Huh? She's awake?" Shikamaru said surprised.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Most of her ANBU covered her as everyone saw Tsunade fall to the ground, her head hitting the ground hard. A poison dart had hit her. The lst thing Tsunade saw was a figure making his leave in the trees ahead.

**XxXxXxX**

"I broke her. Sakura has fallen into the darkness." He said as he laughed. "I will soon control her and take back the Kyuubi. Just know that if I don't succeed, there will be others who will try and obtain the clan's powers"

"Over my dead body" Naruto shouted as the Kyuubi began to take over.

"Fine by me" Madara said. Ino was currently trying to heal Sasuke whose left arm was broken. She watched as Madara pinned Naruto down to the ground with swords.

"Naruto!" Ino cried out.

"You will die and the Kyuubi will belong to me" Madara said as he was about to strike Naruto at the heart. He was soon interrupted by a large crash. The rocks that blocked the way out turned into dust as a shadowy figure stood.

"Who is that…?" Madara said. Everyone was surprised to see Sakura standing there.

Naruto roared as if he was calling her name.

"How are you alive? You shouldn't have been able to get out of the jutsu!" Madara growled.

"You're stupid for locking me out of the dream world, bastard" Inner Sakura said.

"Inner Sakura?" Ino said.

"Great to see you again" Inner Sakura said. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up at Sakura in shock. "What?" He still couldn't believe Sakura had something like this in her.

"In the scroll…it said to defeat Madara, one had to be of royal Uchiha blood. It won't be enough though. You need the power of the Kyuubi as well. You and Naruto have to work together! If he gets his hands on the Kyuubi, it will mean total domination!" Inner Sakura shouted. "I-I can revive all the people that died or was injured in this attack."

"C-Can you revive…Itachi?" Sasuke said. Saying his brother's name without hatred sounded weird.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "...I can try" Inner Sakura said as she closed her eyes. A mark appeared on her forehead as it went across and down the sides of her face. Angel-like wings were transparent behind her. A large blast of light escaped from her and out of the Hokage Mountain. Ino watched as light hit Shizune.

"So you knew what were in the scrolls." Madara said as he charged at her. Inner Sakura could feel her control slipping.

"Damn it. SASUKE! NARUTO!" Inner Sakura screamed as she lost her control. Sakura's hair began lighter as her clothes changed to normal. She soon collapsed to the ground.

Naruto growled as he formed an attack in his mouth. Sasuke stood up as he formed a massive amount of charka in his sword.

"DIE!" Sasuke shouted as Naruto roared animal like. Ino ran to cover Sakura's body. As she did, Ino felt someone covering her as well. Looking up a bit, she saw Shizune covering her.

"Shizune!" Ino cried. Shizune just smiled at her as she tried to cover the two girls.

Mandara watched in surprised as a Rasegan-like attack filled with the Kyuubi's charka hit him in the back as Chidori hit him in the front. He had lost. Sasuke fell on his knees. That attack took a lot out of him. He watched as Naruto soon turned back to normal.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as he passed out.

Ino got up as she put Sakura over her back. "We have to get out of here. This place is going to collapse!"

Shizune went to Naruto and carried him on her back. She soon looked at Sasuke who shook his head.

"I'm fine" He said as he got up. The five got up and began to walk away.

"W-Wait" A voice said.

Shizune looked to see Madara's body was still talking.

"I thought he was dead?!" Ino asked.

"Sakura's jutsu. It must have revived Madara!" Shizune said.

"But why would she want to heal the person that tried to harm us?" Ino asked.

"Shizune-chan…" Shizune's eyes widened. The only person to ever call her that was Obito.

"Obito…" Shizune said as she walked up the body. "I see…" Shizune realized why Sakura revived Obito to an extent.

"How are Kakashi and Rin?" Obito asked her.

"Kakashi is fine" Shizune said.

"Rin died…" Obito said as he closed his eyes. "Shizune, take me to Kakashi…please…"

"…Alright" Shizune nodded. "Sasuke-san, can you please? My hands are full"

"Hn" Sasuke said as he lifted Obito.

"Sasuke...Uncle Fugaku's and Aunt Mikoto's youngest son..." Sasuke heard Obito whisper.

**XxXxXxX**

When everyone made it down to the village, they were met with cheers and smiling face. It was nighttime. In a few minutes, it would be a new year. Naruto slowly woke up to the noise.

"Naruto, our hero!" People in the crowd shouted.

"Team 7 did it!"

"Naruto! Thank you"

"Good job Sasuke!"

"Are you guys hurt?"

"Oi, don't push" Naruto said as a crowed of people came up to him.

Naruto looked at the people surprised. Everyone was acknowledging him. Iruka was proud as he was crying remembering how the village treated him before. Kakashi was slowly walking up to them as he spotted a familiar face on Sasuke's back.

"O-Obito!" Kakashi shouted as people began to talk.

"Kakashi…good job in raising your students" Obito said. "Don't regret anything that happened in the past. I'm not angry about anything. Just promise me one thing…"

"What is it Obito?" Kakashi asked.

Obito smiled. "Take care of Sakura-chan…."

Everyone watched Obito take his last breath. Sasuke put his body down on the ground gently.

"Ino!" Shikamaru's voice called out for her.

"Shika-kun!" Ino replied as she handed Sakura over to Naruto. Ino ran into Shikamaru's arms as they were in a tight embrace.

"I'm so glad you're okay" Shikamaru said.

Shizune looked around as she saw that Tsunade was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

Shikamaru was silent for a bit before he answered. "Take Sakura to the hospital. Tsunade was diagnosis to be in a coma." Shizune covered her mouth.

People were still cheering, as they launched the fireworks. The clock had struck midnight and it was officially the New Year!

An ANBU came to Shikamaru's father.

"Emergency meeting. You're to report to the council room immediately" The ANBU said as the two left the crowd.

**XxXxXxX**

"We plan to continue working with other countries against the threat posed by Akatsuki" Homura said.

"First we'll have to come up with a budget…and consider the strain on the other countries. After what happened to the village…the land of fire will put every effort into getting it rebuilt." The Daimyo said.

"There's something we have to consider first. Who will be the next Hokage?" Danzou asked.

"So it's come to that…" Shikaku thought in his head.

"Can we not wait until Tsunade has recovered?" The leader of the Council said as he tried to fan himself.

"My lord…" Koharu began to say. "Tsunade is still in a coma. We can't decide on a plan for the village when we don't know when she will wake up. Besides, she's partially responsible for Konoha's destruction."

"I'd thought to choose Jiraiya. I liked him, but he's gone now. So who shall it be?" the leader said.

"…well" Danzou began to say.

"I nominate Hatake Kakashi" Shikaku said as Danzou glared at him.

"Oho, son of the "White Fang", eh?" Leader smiled. "Yes, why not. What do you all think?"

"He's well-known, powerful, and respected, it's true…" One member said.

"But don't you think he's too young?" Another said.

"Minato was even younger…" The next member said.

"Who was his teacher?" A member asked about Kakashi.

"The fourth Hokage" Homura answered.

"The fourth Hokage was Jiraiya's pupil, and Jiraiya was a pupil of the third Hokage. There's no problem, then…"The leader said.

"The third Hokage's teachings have as good destroyed the village!" Danzou yelled.

The leader raised his fan to his mouth in shock of Danzou's outburst.

"Akatsuki's leader, the man who destroyed the village, was once Jiraiya's pupil. This is the result of sympathizing with other countries and giving them power. That sort of thinking is weak. That weakness led to Sand's betrayal and allowed Orochimaru's plans to destroy Konoha. It led to the formation of Akatsuki, and Sasuke, the last remaining Uchiha, leaving Konoha for his own secret purposes!" Danzou said.

Shikaku glared at the man in disbelief.

"What kind of Hokage do we need now!?" Danzou said as he got up from his seat. "…One who can put an end to this wretched situation! One who can bring change to the ninja world and reinforce the laws that govern us. That man is-"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" A loud voice said. The council was surprised as Shikaku and the ANBU next to him sighed in relief.

"T-Tsunade!" Koharu said in surprised.

"You're supposed to be in a coma! Why aren't you in a coma" Danzou shouted at her.

"I wouldn't have to be in one if you didn't put a poison in my body and sided with Akatsuki" Danzou's mouth dropped a bit.

"Such ridiculous assumptions! Why would I do that to you? To Konoha?" Danzou asked.

"So she would either die or get blamed for the destruction in Konoha and you would get to rule over Konoha as Hokage. You were mad that you weren't chosen as the Third Hokage. That's why you hold a grudge against the third and anyone that has connection to him." A voice said.

"Itachi Uchiha!" The council said shocked.

"Tsunade has sided with a traitor. She should be executed with treason." Danzou shouted.

"You sided with Akatsuki" Itachi said holding a scroll as he threw it to the leader of the counsel. "That's the contract between Danzou and the leader. Homura and Koharu know my reasons for the massacre of the Uchiha clan and joining Akatsuki. I'd like to say that I finished my mission"

Everyone's mouths dropped.

"There's no way out of this mess." Jiraiya said putt his elbow on Tsunade.

"J-Jiraiya! You're alive!" the leader said happily. "How are you all alive?"

"We'll explain later" Tsunade said.

"If you guys still need proof, here's a box of letters between my father and Danzou. Sakura was kind enough to find out where my father hid them" Itachi said with a smirk.

The leader began to read them as he began to get angry.

"Get Danzou, I want him executed immediately" The leader demanded.

Danzou growled as he tried to make a run for the window. As he was about to jump, he saw all the ninja in Konoha waiting for him, the council members were cornering him as well. Well damn.

Naruto jumped up to the window, which surprised Danzou, and punch his lights out.

"Take him away boys" Tsunade ordered.

"I thought Jiraiya was killed from his fight with the leader and Tsunade was in a coma" Koharu said.

"It was true" The two said.

"Then why are you two here?" Homura asked.

"Sakura. Her clan is known for the powers of healing 1,000 lives." Tsunade said. "As long as I'm still alive, we will not talk about who will be the next Hokage until I say so. Do I make myself clear?" Tsunade finished as she looked over at Homura and Koharu.

"Where's your apprentice now?" The leader asked.

"She's in the hospital…"

**XxXxXxX**

All of team seven's members were hospitalized. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai shared a room as Sakura had to have her own special room due to her conditions.

"Naruto, you seem to be healing up fast" Ino said as she was doing her rounds. "You can probably stay in the hospital for a couple days."

"I see…" Naruto said.

"Sasuke, you have to stay in the hospital for a week or two. Your Sharingan made you weak and you don't have enough Charka to heal fast"

"Che…" Sasuke said as he turned on his side trying to avoid all eyes.

"Sai-kun, you have to stay in the hospital probably a lot longer. You have severe burns from your fight against that Akatsuki member that uses clay bombs."

"You mean the one that looks like you?" Sai asked. Ino growled. "Don't make me give you Sakura's soldier pills!"

Naruto and Sai grimaced in memory of trying those. Sasuke was just confused.

"What's wrong with the soldier pills?" Sasuke asked.

"You want to try some?" Ino asked as she handed Sasuke a basket full of them.

"NO!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed the basket away before Sasuke could touch it. "Ino, are you trying to wipe off the remaining member of the Uchiha clan? If he eats them, the Uchiha clan will go extinct!"

Sai snickered at Naruto's comment.

"Shut up! This is a hospital..." Ino said as she whacked him in the head. Ino sighed. At least she was keeping the boys occupied. She didn't know how Sakura was able to handle this team. Her eyes darkened. Sakura…

"Ino, you okay?" Naruto asked.

"I'm fine!" Ino said too quickly. Sasuke made a face but didn't say anything.

"How's Sakura?" Sai asked. Ino secretly wanted to kill Sai. Why did he bring her up? The question caught Naruto's and Sasuke's attention.

"Where's Sakura-chan?!" Naruto asked.

"She's in the hospital with you guys. She just has another room." Ino said.

"Is she still…"Sasuke didn't finish his sentence.

Ino began to tremble as tears rolled down her cheek. "The doctors don't know what to do! They've tried everything. Even Tsunade couldn't heal her. S-Sakura's body…it won't take anyone's healing charka. It's like her body is trying to avoid being healed. I-I don't know what to do…"

"Let me see her" Naruto said.

"Naruto, I ca-"

"Let… me… see… her." Naruto growled. Ino flinched at his tone as she nodded. Helping Naruto up, Ino escorted Naruto out of the room leaving Sasuke alone with his replacement.

When they entered the room, Naruto froze. The room was dark and quiet. The only thing they could hear was the sound of the vital sounds monitor beeping every three seconds. There was an oxygen mask on Sakura's face as the ventilator helped her breathe. IV cords and other tubes were inside her. There were wires around her forehead as it helped them see what was going on with her mind.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as he held her hand. Sakura's hair was a lighter pink. Her skin was paler and skinner. She resembled Tsunade's position the other day.

"Sakura won't let anyone heal her, so the doctors stopped trying. I heard them say that because Inner Sakura used the Haruno clan's jutsu, it caused Sakura's body to become weaker and more fragile. Because Sakura was low on charka from the start, Inner Sakura must have used part of Sakura's life source"

"Hey Ino…" Naruto said. "Didn't you say that Sakura is stuck in a dream world?"

"Yeah, but Tsunade wasn't able to get her out of there." Ino said.

Naruto smiled. "That's because Tsunade-baachan doesn't have the power to go through someone's mind, like you do…"

Ino's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Yup. The way to save Sakura is to transport ourselves into her mind!" Naruto said.

"Naruto, I think that's the smartest idea you have ever came up with" Ino said as she slapped him in the back playfully.

"We'll wait a few days so you can be at your strongest. I was wondering, are you able to bring two people along with you?" Naruto asked.

Ino's eyes widened. "I never thought about that. I'll look it up in my clan's scrolls. You want me to bring Sasuke along as well, huh?"

Naruto nodded. "Please…"

Ino smiled. "Alright. Let me take you back into your room"

As the two blonds walked back to the room, they stopped when they heard Sasuke and Sai in a deep conversation. They soon hid their charka.

"When we were fighting Pein and his bodies, Sakura seemed to have recovered from her memory loss" Sasuke said.

"I've been wondering for a while Sasuke-san. Why did you tell me of all people about what Neji-san and Hinata-san told you" Sai asked. "I read in a book once that if someone tells you a big secret as you did, that means they trust you. Is that true in this situation?"

"…yeah" Sasuke said.

"I don't know why you guys would act like that towards Sakura. I read best friends are supposed to be there for each other and never do something mean like that. She was really hurt."

"Hn"

"Can you repeat to me again what the Hyuga cousins told you?"

"The more Sakura remembers, the more likely she'll die as an effect…" Sasuke said.

Ino's and Naruto's eyes widened with the new information they learned. Ino covered her mouths as Naruto's hands turned into a fist. Were they actually helping bring Sakura closer to death?

"Is there any way to save her?" Sai asked.

"I have no idea" Sasuke said as he clenched his fist on the bedsheets. "I'm so mad. How could we not see the signs every time she remembered something? When she remembered Ino, she fell into a coma. Then when she remembered half her memories of me, she got really sick…"

"…Because you two were the main people in her lives and the one who hurt her the most…" Sai finished for him.

"Ah…"

"That can't be true" Naruto interrupted as he and Ino barged into the room.

"You were listening?" Sasuke asked.

"How could you keep this a secret from us?" Ino asked. "Don't act like you're the only one who cares about Sakura!"

Sai was quiet as he observed the scene in front of him. So this was a test of friendship.

"Why!" Ino cried. "Why does it have to be her? Why does she have to suffer? What did she do to deserve this?"

"Shut up" Sasuke snapped. Her crying was irritating him. "We have to push Sakura out of our lives. As long as she doesn't completely remember us, she'll be okay. We can't help it since she already remembered Ino completely."

"But the whole reason everyone is trying to hard is to bring Sakura back to normal…" Naruto said.

"Would you rather have her die instead?!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto growled as he grabbed Sasuke by the collar.

Ino's eyes widened. "H-Hey cut it out, Naruto. You're healing faster than the others. Sasuke is still recovering."

Their fight was grabbing everyone's attention as they formed a crowd outside the room.

"How could you ask me such a thing?!" Naruto snapped back. "You know better than anyone! Sakura-chan is the most important person to me!" Everyone's eyes widened at the sudden confession. "I love her!"

Ino smiled as she blushed. It was sweet, if only Sakura could hear it. Their audience blushed as well.

Sasuke smirked.

"What are you smirking about?" Naruto asked.

"Just wanted to make sure of your true feelings" Sasuke said as he felt Naruto let him go.

Ino turned to face the boys as she was about to make her leave. "In a week, we'll go back to Sakura's room and try to help her. Naruto, explain to Sasuke and Sai-kun our plan. I still have a shift to do"

"I understand" Naruto said as Ino left.

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**How was that?! I know that it's actually Nagato that revived everyone in the village, but I kinda kicked him out of the story and made it Sakura instead since it worked out with "her clan's powers". I'm happy I made my favorite characters alive. I wish it turned out like this in the manga. I still can't believe that Danzou is going to be the 6th Hokage! Are you kidding me, Masashi Kishimoto!! Tsunade is in a coma! But I'm glad that the village finally acknowledged Naruto. Kakashi and Shizune are alive as well! Woo Hoo! Haha I was writing this chapter while re-watching Ouran High School Host Club! Anyways, I hoped everyone liked this chapter. Please review everyone :D**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey everyone! Hope you guys are all having a wonderful summer. Mine will be a very busy one. I have work and summer homework. Bleh. But I'll try to update as fast as I can. Also, check out my new story Love Love Love.**

**Last time on Gomenasai….**

_Their fight was grabbing everyone's attention as they formed a crowd outside the room._

"_How could you ask me such a thing?!" Naruto snapped back. "You know better than anyone! Sakura-chan is the most important person to me!" Everyone's eyes widened at the sudden confession. "I love her!"_

_Ino smiled as she blushed. It was sweet, if only Sakura could hear it. Their audience blushed as well._

_Sasuke smirked. _

"_What are you smirking about?" Naruto asked._

"_Just wanted to make sure of your true feelings" Sasuke said as he felt Naruto let him go._

_Ino turned to face the boys as she was about to make her leave. "In a week, we'll go back to Sakura's room and try to help her. Naruto, explain to Sasuke and Sai-kun our plan. I still have a shift to do"_

"_I understand" Naruto said as Ino left._

**XxXxXxX**

It was late at night as a two shadowy figures moved silently around the hospital. The taller figure opened the door to a certain room.

"Teme" He whispered loudly. "Oi, Teme are you awake?"

"Sai-kun seems to be sleeping right now" Ino said as she walked quietly to Sasuke's bed. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes to see two pairs of blue eyes looking down at him.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked weakly.

"Ready to go?" Ino asked as she made sure no nurses were on patrol in the hallway. Naruto helped Sasuke up as he put one of Sasuke's arms on his shoulder and helped him walk.

"Ah" Sasuke answered Ino's question.

"You guys better do all you can to help her now" a voice said. "Bring her…back"

The three froze but calmed down when they saw that Sai was talking in his sleep. Still…what a weird thing to say at the moment…

The three looked at each other before nodding. Ino walked ahead to make sure they wouldn't get caught. They soon made it in front of Sakura's room. Ino took out her id card and slid it on the lock as it opened. Naruto and Sasuke got a good look at Sakura. As the week went by, Sakura seemed to have been getting worse and worse. The girl in the bed looked like she was already dead.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as he went up to her.

"Naruto, Sasuke, we have to do this right. If I mess up on the jutsu, we'll be stuck in her mind forever with no way out. Do you still want to come with me?" Ino asked in a serious tone.

Naruto nodded. "I promised Sakura I'd always protect her no matter what"

"Ah" Sasuke said as he walked up to Ino and Naruto.

"Alright. You guys have to place a hand on my shoulder and send a little bit of charka to me. When I do the jutsu, not only will I be able to transport myself into Sakura's mind, you guys will be able to go with me"

Naruto and Sasuke did what Ino said as she began to do hand signs with a scroll in her hand. Ino's eyes turned a glowing white color as Naruto was glowing a faint orange color and Sasuke was glowing a faint blue color as well. One by one, their bodies hit the floor as everything turned dark. The last thing each of them could see was Sakura's heart beating really fast on the heart monitor. A loud gasp was heard from her.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto opened his eyes to see large doors in front of him. Everything else was darkness that surrounded him and his friends.

"Naruto!" a voice called out as it glomped him. Naruto looked up to see a girl that looked just like Sakura staring at him with a blushing face.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he put her arm's length away. The Sakura in front of him smiled.

"I'm Inner Sakura, you idiot" She said. Naruto noticed that her hair and eyes was darker and her clothes were black and white. He watched as she went up to Ino and shook her a bit.

"Ino-pig, wake up" Ino stirred as she slowly got up.

Inner Sakura soon went up to Sasuke and kicked him on the side of his stomach hard. "Wake up Uchiha-Teme"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he had a pissed off look. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Sakura may have forgiven you for what you've done to her, but I haven't. I have to deal with the emotions she hides inside of her since I'm her inner. And you, you bastard should be dead by my hands if it wasn't for Sakura who doesn't want to."

"Hn" Sasuke said as he got up.

"Why I ought to-"

"Inner Sakura, where's Sakura?" Ino asked breaking up the fight that could have started. Inner Sakura sighed and pointed at the large doors they saw. It seemed like the only light in this darkness.

"Madara. He but a barrier around the fake world he put Sakura in. He was trying to find out what were on the scrolls she found in Itachi's room. He tried to force her by pretending she was in the real world and that the ninja world was all a dream she made in her head. She's starting to believe that. When she does, there's no way we can take her out of there"

Ino tried to touch the door but the barrier pushed her away. She soon threw a bunch of kunai at it

"It's no use. Not even my super strength will work" Inner Sakura said. The girls heard the sound of many birds chirping and the sound of wind. They looked to see Naruto and Sasuke forming the Rasegan and the Chidori . Together, they aimed straight for the barriers. Their attacks began to crack the barrier as the doors opened.

"We did it" Naruto cheered.

"Don't be tricked by what you see when we enter it okay" Inner Sakura warned. Ino and the guys nodded. "On the count of three, we jum-"

Naruto already jumped inside the door as Sasuke followed him.

"Did you guys not hear a word I said?!" Inner Sakura screamed as Ino sighed.

"They're idiots" Ino commented as she and Inner Sakura jumped together.

**XxXxXxX**

Tsunade rushed to the hospital. A nurse on guard duty discovered three bodies in Sakura's room. When Tsunade entered, she was surprised to see Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino on the floor. Tsunade had someone call the Yamanaka family, Kakashi, Yamato, and Shikamaru. Her eyes narrowed at the scroll in Ino's hands. The three were glowing as Ino was the main one. Her ears soon detected a weird sound coming from the heart monitor. Sakura's heart rate was increases really fast then out of nowhere it stopped.

"You three" Tsunade shouted. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Tsunade pointed at the heart monitor.

"Well, it started to beep really fast then went back to normal, so I thought nothing of it." A nurse answered for Tsunade. People entered the room.

"What happened to Sakura?" Kakashi asked. A nurse told him someone was wrong in the room Sakura was in at the hospital.

"Ino!" Shikamaru said. Inoichi and his wife went to Ino as well.

"What happened to my daughter? What is the meaning of this?" Inoichi asked.

Tsunade pointed at the scroll in Ino's hands.

"I was hoping you'd tell me Inoichi" Inoichi looked at the scroll as his eyes widened.

"Honey, what is that scroll?" Mrs. Yamanaka asked.

"It was a family scroll. I didn't know she took it from my room." Inoichi said as he fell on his butt.

"What is on the scrolls?" Yamato asked.

"It's a jutsu where you can not only transport yourself into someone's mind but other people as well…" Inoichi said.

"I don't see the problem in that-"Tsunade was cut off as Inoichi finished what he was going to say.

"…but the jutsu is incomplete. There isn't a way to bring yourself out" Inoichi said as everyone was shocked.

**XxXxXxX**

"Uzumaki"

"Uchiha"

Each person felt something hit their head.

They all got up and saw that they were in a classroom. In front of them was Kakashi.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto said. He soon looked around to see that Inner Sakura and Ino were nowhere to be seen. He could see familiar faces in the room like Shikamaru and Sai and the rest of their friends.

"Please do not sleep in my class" Kakashi said. "Anyways, I've just received news on Haruno-san's condition"

"Is she able to walk?" Tenten asked.

"I was wondering that too!" Karin said. "I mean, who'd be crazy enough to jump from the roof of the school?"

"She thought she was a ninja" Sai said. "She was having another one of her episodes."

"She's telling the truth!" Naruto said.

"Ah" Sasuke said.

"They're losing it too" Kiba said as he laughed. The rest of the class laughed with him.

Kakashi said. "Like I told Sakura, there is no such thing as the ninja world. Just a week ago, you guys told her the same thing. Anyways, the people at the asylum said that she's recovering fast. She finally getting over the ninja world and knowing that this is the real world. She'll soon be able to be around us once again"

The whole class cheered as Naruto stood up.

"I will not believe this!" Naruto said as he ran out of the room. Sasuke followed right after.

"There you two are" Ino said.

Inner Sakura had a scary look on her face as she punched both of them in the head. "I told you on the count of three. If you went with me, we would already be where Sakura was"

"You guys found Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah…" Ino said. "She's locked up in an asylum.

"We heard" Sasuke said.

"We have to hurry" Inner Sakura as they began to head towards the indoor pool at the school. "We don't have a lot of time. The more time we waste, the less time we have in saving Sakura"

"I thought Sakura was in an asylum. Why are we at the pool?" Sasuke asked.

"It seems like Madara took everything he knew about Sakura and used it to create this world. That's why you see familiar faces and why people act like they always do." Inner Sakura stated. "The school resembles the village; the principal is the Hokage, ect."

"What's so significant about the pool?" Sasuke asked. The pool seemed to be 12 feet deep.

Sasuke noticed the silence as Inner Sakura glared at him.

"The pool is filled with the tears Sakura shed. Most of the pool is filled up with tears that you caused, you bastard!" Inner Sakura snapped. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Anyhoo, we have to jump into the pool. If you guys didn't notice, the school is shrinking as Sakura falls deeper into the illusion." Inner Sakura said as she chained her arms to Sasuke's and Naruto's. "This time we jump together". Ino chained her arm to Naruto as they jumped into the pool.

**XxXxXxX**

Everyone opened their eyes to see that they were at the asylum.

"We're here…" Ino said. The boys looked up to see themselves surrounded in darkness. The only light shining in the room was the one in the middle. The light was shining on someone…someone in a wheelchair with a pen and pencil…someone named Sakura Haruno.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he ran up to her. Sakura looked up to see Naruto staring at her with a smile. "Come on Sakura-chan, let's take you back home to Konoha"

Sakura's eyes widened as she covered her ears with her hands. "NO! I'm already at home. You're just a dream! There's no such thing as ninja. Leave me alone NOW"

"He already got to her..." Inner Sakura said.

Ino growled as she slapped Sakura across the face.

"I-Ino…" Naruto said shocked.

"Get yourself together!" Ino shouted. "You're being tricked. This is the fake world. You're not one to fall into silly genjutsu like this. You're stronger than that! You're Tsunade's apprentice! You're not weak Sakura! So break the jutsu!"

"Ino…" Sakura said surprised.

"Let's take you home Sakura" Sasuke said as he handed her his hand. "Let's go back home"

"How do I know this isn't a trick? You guys are just illusions." Sakura shouted.

Naruto pulled Sakura from his chair as he kissed her full on the lips. Ino blushed as Sasuke was taken back.

"I love you Sakura-chan. Please…come back with me" Naruto whispered.

"Naruto…" Sakura said as she fainted in his arms. The room began to change as Inner Sakura and Ino saw a familiar room filled with treasure chests. A chest was glowing with Sasuke's name on it.

"We did it" Inner Sakura said.

"This chest holds all of Sakura's memories of you" Ino said. Naruto noticed Ino's box was open.

"Yours is opened" Naruto said.

"Yes, but forcing Sakura to remember you will give her bad side effects. Just let her remember you on your own" Inner Sakura said.

"I'll send you guys back. I'm good at breaking mind jutsu" Inner Sakura said with a grin. "Thank you for saving Sakura. Please, take better care of her in the future"

Naruto tightened his grip on Sakura as he carried her bridal style.

"I will" Naruto said.

Everything began to get dark again.

**XxXxXxX**

"Ahh!" Naruto shouted as he sat up. He saw that he was in his hospital room. Sasuke and Ino were waking up as well. Sai looked at him with a fake smile.

"Welcome back" Sai said.

"Where's Sakura" Sasuke asked.

"She's resting." Shikamaru said as he entered the room. "A glow came from Sakura and went back to you guys. After that happened, Sakura's heart began to beat really slow to the point where we thought she died. Then out of nowhere, her heart began to beat really fast. After that she just woke up crying." He went up to Ino and kissed her. "What were you thinking using a jutsu that had no way of coming back?"

"Huh?" Ino asked.

"The scroll you took from your father's room. It was incomplete" Shikamaru said. "But I'm just happy you're safe. I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you. Promise me you won't do it again"

"I promise" Ino said as she smiled.

"How long were we out?" Naruto asked.

"Three days" Shikamaru answered.

"But it didn't even seem that long in the fake world." Naruto said.

"No, you guys woke up an half an hour later, but fainted right after" Shikamaru said.

"I want to see Sakura-chan…" Naruto said as he got up from bed. Shikamaru was about to stop him, but Ino held him back.

"Let him go. Sakura would like to see him too" Ino said with a sweet smile.

Sasuke didn't say anything as he turned to his right side and looked outside the window. It was the afternoon.

"_It seems like Madara took everything he knew about Sakura and used it to create this world. That's why you see familiar faces and why people act like they always do." Inner Sakura stated. "The school resembles the village; the principal is the Hokage, ect."_

"_What's so significant about the pool?" Sasuke asked. The pool seemed to be 12 feet deep. _

_Sasuke noticed the silence as Inner Sakura glared at him._

"_The pool is filled with the tears Sakura shed. Most of the pool is filled up with tears that you caused, you bastard!" Inner Sakura snapped. Sasuke's eyes widened._

Sasuke clenched his teeth. Why was he letting those words get to him? Why?

Sasuke's eyes darkened. He already knew the answer. He felt ashamed and guilty for hurting Sakura all these years. He knew he had until the end of January to take care of Sakura. He was going to make sure she was the happiest person in the Konoha if not in the whole world. He knew he didn't love her like Naruto did, but he loved her like a best friend if not a sister. And he was going to do it on his own without the help of Team Seven or Team Hawk. He had to talk to Tsunade about this.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto walked down the hallway and saw Tsunade a couple feet away from him.

"Tsunade-baachan!" Naruto called out as he ran up to Tsunade.

"Naruto?" Tsunade said shocked. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling good. How's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"I was actually going to check on her right now" Tsunade answered.

"Can I come along?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade sighed. "Even if I say no, you'd come along anyways" Naruto grinned at her.

Naruto watched as Tsunade opened the door. When Naruto walked in, he saw Sakura sitting up on the bed and looking out on the window.

"Sakura?" Tsunade called out. Sakura turned her head.

"Hello Tsunade-sama" Sakura greeted. She then saw Naruto. "You came to visit me Naruto-san?"

"That's good. She doesn't seem to have lost her memories she gained after the act you three pulled" Tsunade said. Naruto let out a nervous laugh. "Consider yourselves lucky"

"Sakura!" A voice called out as it sounded like people were running in the hallway.

All of a sudden the room was filled up with Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Karin, Suigetsu, Juugo, Neji, Tenten, and Lee.

"I heard that you woke up so I came to visit" Suigetsu said.

"Stop trying to act so cool in front of her" Karin said as she slapped Suigetsu across the head.

"Stop being jealous" Suigetsu said.

"J-Jealous?" Karin stuttered. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Really now?" Suigetsu smirked as he went up to Sakura and placed a kiss on her right left cheek. "I'm glad you're okay" Suigetsu said as he ruffled Sakura's hair.

Naruto's and Karin's mouth dropped as they began to yell at Suigetsu.

"Don't kiss my Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he pushed Suigetsu away from Sakura and wrapped his arms around her. All Sakura could do was touch her cheek as she blushed.

Karin and Naruto noticed her blush.

"No! Stop blushing" Karin said. "You cannot fall in love with Suigetsu because he's mi-"Karin froze as she realized what she was saying.

"What's this?" Kiba began to say. "A love confession?"

"I thought Karin-chan liked Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said.

"Arg!" Karin ran out of the room embarrassed.

"I'll go talk to her" Suigetsu said as he ran after her.

"They're cute together" Tenten stated.

"Indeed" Sakura said with a smile.

"I wasn't talking about them…" Tenten whispered but Lee heard her.

"I see. You're right Tenten…" Lee said as he laced his hands with her. The couple was looking at Naruto and Sakura laughing with each other. "But I hope Sakura-san's youthfulness comes back in time for her to tell Naruto-kun how she feels."

"Neji-niisan…?" Hinata said as she poked her cousin's arm. "Is this really okay? Remember what Tsunade told us?"

Neji sighed. "I don't know anymore, Hinata-sama. The only thing we can do it leave it to fate's hands."

"And here I thought Naruto-kun talked you out of believing that fate stuff" Hinata muttered.

The next day, Sakura was able to leave the hospital. Sai was supposed to stay at the hospital but he told Tsunade didn't want to any time he had left with Sakura. Tsunade was surprised that Sai knew about Sakura's condition. Sai had gone to the Uchiha compound earlier with Tsunade to talk to the rest of Team seven. Naruto offered to pick her up, but Shizune said that someone was going to drop her off later.

When Naruto reached the house, Tsunade was there waiting for him.

"Tsunade-baachan, what's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, you and the rest of team seven excluding Sasuke will be going on an S-rank mission" Tsunade said. "Two of the remaining Akatsuki member had escaped from our prison cell earlier. I think you guys are able to retrieve them. Kill them if you must. They stole something from my scroll room"

"What did they steal?" Kakashi asked.

"A revival scroll" A voice interrupted. Everyone was shocked to see Itachi walking into the house carrying Sakura on his back.

"Itachi!" Sasuke said. Itachi could sense all the suspicious stares.

"What? I didn't do anything to her" Itachi said. "Right Sakura-san?"

Sakura nodded. "Itachi-kun treated me to a meat bun" Sakura said with a smile.

"You're alive? I thought…I thought I killed you" Sasuke said.

"You did, but Sakura-san's healing powers revived me" Itachi said. "I had to do a lot of talking with the elders and counsel about my mission the third Hokage and those elders gave me to make me safe in Konoha again."

"What do they want with the revival scroll?" Sai asked.

"We don't know and that's what I want you guys to figure out. So everyone's clear? You guys will be leaving for your mission tomorrow and the Uchiha brothers will be taking care of Sakura" Tsunade said.

After a couple minutes, Naruto and the gang left leaving Sakura with the Uchiha brothers and Tsunade.

"What's the meaning of this Tsunade? I thought we talked about this?" Sasuke said.

"I know, you said you wanted to make sure Sakura was the happiest person in Konoha and help her own your own. The only way you'll be able to do that is if you destroy all the anger, sadness and hatred you had built up inside of you. Being able to work with Itachi will be a good way to help you. It will also help you become close with your brother again. Once you do, you'll be able to treat Sakura with the kindness she deserved from you all these years" Tsunade said.

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**Yeah…didn't know what to write, so I did the best I could. I kinda forgot that I made Itachi alive in this story haha. So i had to add him somewhere. I really don't like this chapter, but I'm just being lazy right now. Anyhoo, review everyone and thanks for reading.**

**-Kumiko**


	25. Chapter 25

**Haven't updated this story in a while! Sorry about that everyone. I just wanted to finish up Love Story (DeiSaku) and I was out of the state. I was only able to update Love Story and Sakura Kiss (Love Love Love) because I wrote the new chapters on my laptop and not on my desktop. All my Gomenasai stories are on the desktop so yeah. School is starting in a few weeks. I'm so excited. Gonna be a senior! (cough) anyways, let's continue on with the story.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_What do they want with the revival scroll?" Sai asked._

"_We don't know and that's what I want you guys to figure out. So everyone's clear? You guys will be leaving for your mission tomorrow and the Uchiha brothers will be taking care of Sakura" Tsunade said._

_After a couple minutes, Naruto and the gang left leaving Sakura with the Uchiha brothers and Tsunade._

"_What's the meaning of this Tsunade? I thought we talked about this?" Sasuke said._

"_I know, you said you wanted to make sure Sakura was the happiest person in Konoha and help her own your own. The only way you'll be able to do that is if you destroy all the anger, sadness and hatred you had built up inside of you. Being able to work with Itachi will be a good way to help you. It will also help you become close with your brother again. Once you do, you'll be able to treat Sakura with the kindness she deserved from you all these years" Tsunade said._

**XxXxXxX**

Onyx eyes met with red ones…

Onyx eyes glared at red ones…

Green eyes shined happily…

Sakura and the Uchiha brothers had decided to go out for the day. Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and Yamato had left yesterday for their mission to capture the other Akatsuki. Sakura was still in her wheelchair because of her broken legs she received from Madara. People in the village still couldn't believe that Itachi was actually the good guy after all this time and was in the village. It was weird to see Sakura eating ice cream while being seated in the middle of the two brothers. Sasuke had been glaring at his brother the whole time as Itachi was assisting Sakura with her every need.

"Do you want more ice cream?" Itachi asked.

"I'll get it for her" Sasuke said not liking how his brother was more helpful in helping Sakura than he was.

"No, I'm good" Sakura said as she waved her hands in front of her. "What do you guys want to eat for dinner?"

"Sakura, don't be an idiot" Sasuke said as he shook his head and began to move Sakura's wheelchair. "You can't even stand up by yourself. What makes you think you can cook dinner?"

"Karin and Tenten said they'd come over to help me" Sakura said as she smiled. "Neji, Lee-san, Suigetsu, and Juugo are coming over for dinner as well. I hope you don't mind"

"Hn" Sasuke and Itachi said as they both got up and headed back home. Sasuke said he'd go and get Sakura's clothes and bath ready for her. Tenten or Karin would help her with that. Sakura and Itachi were sitting in the living room.

"I have a feeling this happened before" Sakura said.

"What do you mean, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked.

"You, me, and Sasuke-kun together like this" Sakura said with a smile.

"So you remember" Itachi said. "When you and Sasuke were younger, we found you one afternoon…"

Itachi noticed the change in Sakura's eyes.

**Flashback**

"_You're forehead is so huge!" A girl said as she pushed a little girl to the ground._

"_And who the heck has pink hair?" Another said. "It's not normal"_

_The group of girls began to taunt the little girl in a circle._

"_Not even Sasuke-kun would like you or be your friend. Ino pities you" She said. "So why don't you just leave her and Sasuke-kun alon-"_

_A tomato hit the leader right in the face. Sakura looked up to see the Uchiha brothers._

"_S-Sasuke-kun?" The leader said surprised. "Why did you throw a tomato in my face?"_

"_Stop picking on her" Sasuke said as he went to help Sakura up. "Who said I didn't want to be her friend. I'd rather be friends with her than ugly people like you" _

_The fan girls' world seemed to have shattered at Sasuke's words. Itachi just smiled as he lifted Sakura onto his shoulders._

"_Come with us" Itachi said as he and Sasuke walked away from the girls._

"_T-T-Thank you" Sakura cried as her nose was runny._

"_My big brother, Itachi, is going to treat us to ice cream! So you shouldn't cry anymore" Sasuke said with a grin. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha by the way. What's your name?"_

"_S-Sakura Haruno" Sakura said as she stopped crying._

"_Cherry Blossom of spring, huh?" Itachi said. _

"_It suits her" Sasuke said as Sakura smiled. That's when her crush started._

**End of flashback**

"That's when I first met you and Sasuke-kun" Sakura said with a smile.

"You know, I always considered you as the little sister I never had" Itachi replied as he ruffled her hair. "And you were like an older sister to Sasuke as well"

"Are your eyes...?" Sakura didn't finish her sentence.

"Ah" Itachi said. Itachi felt Sakura's soft hands on each side of his eyes. A warm feeling entered him.

"You shouldn't even try it" Itachi said. "Tsunade-sama already informed me of your condition."

"Condition?" Sakura asked. Itachi said nothing as he seemed to have been in deep thought.

**Flashback**

"_I've been able to clear your name. I never knew this was your mission, but I will not forgive you for what you did to Sakura." Tsunade said._

"_I didn't want to do it" Itachi said in a cool voice. "I consider Sakura-san as sister"_

"_Then why do it?!" Tsunade snapped. Shizune jumped at Tsunade's tone._

"_I didn't want Madara to hurt her. You saw what he could do. The way he uses his Sharingan is far crueler than how I use it. I never wanted Sakura to go through that. So I did what I had to do" _

"_But because of your actions…she's going to die" Tsunade said in a quiet voice. _

_Itachi's eyes widened but soon recovered quickly. "I'm sorry"_

"_As long as Sakura doesn't remember anything else from her past, she'll be safe. She also has the powers of the Haruno clan. Make sure she never uses that power again. I'm afraid it might affect her health"_

**End of Flashback**

"Nothing." Itachi said.

Sakura looked at Itachi then shrugged.

The doorbell rang as Itachi went to open it. In the front steps were Sakura's and Sasuke's friends.

"Hello" Sakura greeted from behind Itachi.

"Hey Sakura" Everyone greeted back. "Hello Itachi-san"

Itachi knew that some of them were nervous seeing him there.

"Come in. Come in" Sakura said as she moved the door wider. Itachi moved away from the door so their guests could enter.

"Ah, you're here" Sasuke said as he entered the living room. "Karin, Tenten, I need you to help Sakura"

Tenten heard the sound of water as she understood. "Got it"

Karin helped push Sakura to the bathroom as Tenten followed suit. That left the guys alone in the living room. Itachi and Sasuke sat on one couch as Neji, Lee, Suigetsu, and Jugo sat on another.

"Was it a wise idea to have only you take care of Sakura without Naruto's help?" Neji asked.

"I only have less than a month left with her. I have my reasons Hyuga. So butt out of it" Sasuke said.

Neji smirked. "I see. You want to make up for all the times you've hurt Sakura…am I correct?"

"Che, what is it to you?" Sasuke growled.

"You better make it up to her. I don't want Naruto coming back only to see Sakura hurt even more. He really loves her, more than you" Neji said.

"I know. I don't think of her like that. More like a sister." Sasuke mumbled. "That's why after this month, I'm going to have Sakura move out of the house. I'll have Naruto move into Sakura's apartment. Then with the Hokage's permission, I'll be leaving the village with Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo to find a cure for Sakura. I talked to them about it already. I won't let her die without a fight."

"We don't want her to die either" Lee said. "Sakura-san is like the heart of Konoha. If she dies, the village will die with her. Nothing will be the same ever again"

"I only got to know her last month, but she has become a good friend to us as well" Suigetsu said.

"And we know you think of her as family, like a sister or mother" Juugo said.

"She'll make it. Sakura's been through a lot. She's a tough girl" Itachi said.

"Ah" Sasuke said.

After an hour, the girls were in the kitchen making dinner as the boys were just chilling in the living room. Karin and Tenten began to notice how tired Sakura seemed to be. Her breathing became uneven.

"Sakura, we got everything under control here. You should go and relax" Tenten said with a gentle smile.

"Yeah, I mean you just got out of the hospital a few days ago. Go play piano or something" Karin said as she lead Sakura out of the kitchen. "I better not see you coming in here trying to help"

Sakura laughed. "Okay, okay. I'll go play piano."

A couple minutes later, Tenten and Karin were setting the table for dinner when the sound of piano was heard. Tenten smiled. Sakura was playing. (**A/N: The song Sakura is playing on the piano is Yawarakana Jikan from Honey and Clover)**

Neji and Itachi were meditating in the middle of the living room floor, in front of the fire place. The warmth from the fire and the gentle music was soothing during the cold winter. Lee was lying down on the couch listening. Sasuke was reading a scroll about cures. Suigetsu was sleeping on the other couch. Jugo had gone to where Sakura was to watch her play and make sure she was okay.

"Sakura-san is really good" Lee commented.

"She truly is" Karin said as she entered the room to take the trash out. "Sasuke-kun got her that piano for Christmas"

"That was nice of you Sasuke" Tenten said with a smile.

"Hn" Sasuke said with a light blush as he walked to where Sakura and Jugo were.

"You were really good" Jugo complimented her. Sakura grinned at him.

"Thanks. Kaka-sensei told me I used to play the piano a lot. He had Naruto find my old notes and I was able to play it." Sakura said as she continued to play.

Jugo seemed to have sensed Sasuke as Jugo left the room. Sasuke entered it as Sakura stopped playing.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said.

"You don't have to stop playing just because I'm here" Sasuke told her.

"Thank you again, for getting me this piano. I love it" Sakura told him with a smile.

Sasuke cracked a tiny smile as he ruffled her hair.

"Hey!" Sakura said as she laughed. Sakura moved over a bit on the bench so Sasuke could sit next to her. She watched as Sasuke placed his hands on the keys and began to play. **(A/N: This song is Dramatic from Honey and Clover)**

"I know that song too" Sakura said. Sasuke stopped playing.

"When we were younger, you taught me how to play this song one summer" Sasuke said.

Sakura smiled as she began to play the high notes. Sasuke followed after her as he played the deep notes. They soon ended the song as Sakura's stomach growled.

Sakura let out a nervous laugh. Sasuke smirked.

"Let's go eat" Sasuke said as he helped Sakura onto the wheelchair.

"Okie dokie" Sakura said as she let Sasuke take her to where the others were. Sakura closed her eyes, smiling. Sasuke really was one of her best friends. She could consider him as a brother. Her green eyes snapped open at the thought. That's when it hit her. She wasn't in love with Sasuke. Was she in love with Naruto-san?

Sakura shook her head. No, Naruto was just another of her friends right?

Sasuke seemed to have noticed Sakura's actions as he asked what was wrong.

"Is your head hurting?" Sasuke asked in a kind voice that made Sakura want to cry.

"N-No" Sakura said.

"If something is hurting you, tell me immediately. Don't be an idiot and try to hide it." Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded as they entered the dining room. Everyone was seated and waiting for her and Sasuke.

"Sit next to us!" Tenten said as she waved her hand to a chair in the middle of her and Karin.

Karin helped Sakura onto the chair as they began to eat.

"Itadakimasu" Sakura said as she was about to break her chopsticks apart.

"Itadakimasu" Everyone said after her as they broke their chopsticks with ease.

Sasuke frowned when he noticed Sakura having a hard time breaking hers.

Jugo reached over across the table and took her chopstick. He broke it for her as he handed it back. "Here you go, Sakura-san"

Sakura looked at her hands for a couple seconds before taking back her chopsticks and looking at Jugo with a smile. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. That smile wasn't real but the others didn't seem to notice the difference.

"Thank you Jugo" Sakura replied.

"Are you okay Sakura-san?" Neji asked.

"…I-I'm fine." Sakura said as she paused. "I'm just tired. That's all"

Tenten looked over to her boyfriend, Lee, who frowned back. Suigetsu held Karin's hand and squeezed it as Karin stared at Sakura with worried eyes. Jugo stared at Sakura sadly. Neji, Sasuke, and Itachi didn't need their eyes to know that something wrong was going on with Sakura.

"Do you want to go to bed now?" Juuo asked as he was about to get up. Sasuke had stopped him as he had already moved up and was at Sakura's side at once.

Sakura slowly nodded as Sasuke moved Sakura's chair so it was easier for her to get out. Grabbing Sakura by the waist, Sasuke helped Sakura walk back into her room.

Karin stared at Sakura's untouched food. "You don't think this is a side effect of Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke-kun going into her mind…"

Tenten raised her palms to her eyes as she tried to hold back her tears. "I thought she'd get better. She looked better and acted better than she did in fall. I heard from Neji about what's going on with Sakura. Getting her memories mean bringing her closer to death! Arg! I hate this!" Tenten said as she pounded her fist on the table. "Why does it have to be her? Why does she have to go through this after all the good she's done for everyone?! It's not fair! It's simply not fair" Tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks as Lee held her.

Itachi was quiet as he felt guilty. He was the reason Sakura was like this. But this was better than what Madara could have done to her.

"I'm sorry" Itachi said as everyone looked at him. "Because of me, Sakura-san had to go through this. I was the one who put her to this condition. But I don't understand how she could die from remembering something. The effects should have been in a coma but could easily wake up from it in a few weeks. But I never heard of someone having this kind of effect"

"She didn't start having these effects until Ino went into her mind to help Sakura remember her." Karin said. "Tsunade-sama told me about it."

"She forced Sakura to remember her" Neji said it as a statement. "In return for such actions, Sakura had to remember so many memories in so little time that it messed up her system"

Everyone stared at Neji in awe. That could have been what was wrong with Sakura.

"I don't know if Sasuke-kun already told you guys, but at the end of this month, Sasuke-kun, Suigetsu, Juuo, and myself will be leaving the village to find a cure for Sakura" Karin said. "I was looking upon some scrolls and I discovered another person had dealt with this situation and had survived it. Someone in their village had created a cure. So we're going to that village and get the cure for Sakura"

"Does the Hokage know about it?" Lee asked.

Suigetsu nodded. "Ah. We talked about it with her before we came here"

"She said she'll do anything to help Sakura-san" Jugo said.

"What if it doesn't work?" Tenten asked.

"…Then the best thing we can do is make sure the time Sakura has left with us is a good one" Sasuke said as he walked back into the room. "I think it's best if all of you guys leave now. Sakura is sleeping."

"I just have to ask you one thing" Tenten said.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Have you noticed the change in Sakura?" Tenten asked. "She's seems smaller than usual. She's supposed to be at least 161cm. But she's now 148cm. Don't tell me that's something not to be worrying about! And what the hell just happened earlier, huh? Sakura was unable to even eat or at least break her chopsticks."

"Tenten, calm down" Lee said as he held her hand.

"That was two things" Suigetsu commented.

"SHUT UP" Tenten and Karin shouted.

"You better take better care of her. If anything bad were to happen to her, I will show you why I'm called the weapon mistress" Tenten said as she got up and walked out with the slamming of the door. Everyone flinched as Lee sighed.

"I apologize for Tenten's actions" Lee said as he quickly followed after his girlfriend. Neji got up and followed after his team.

"I guess we better go as well" Karin said as she noticed the awkwardness. "If you need any help, just call us Sasuke-kun"

"…Ah" Sasuke said as he walked his old team out of his house.

Itachi walked over to see Sakura on her bed. Green eyes stared outside her icy window as she watched her friends leave the house.

"I'm dying?" Sakura asked Itachi who was sitting on her bed. Sakura was on her knees as she watched Karin and the others turn the corner.

"Yes" Itachi said.

"It's making everyone sad" Sakura said as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She soon fell onto her bed and closed her eyes.

Itachi watched as Sakura shut her eyes. She was like a child in an adult like body. He tucked her in warmly and tight.

"Thank you Itachi" Sakura whispered before falling asleep.

**XxXxXxX**

Sasuke sighed as he and Sakura were eating breakfast. Sakura and Itachi were already eating breakfast when he got to the table. Itachi had some errands to do today, so he left the two alone for the day.

"What do you want to do today?" Sasuke asked bored as Sakura stuffed her mouth with toast. Sakura swallowed the piece in her mouth as she smiled.

"Can we go outside?" Sakura asked excitedly.

"Can you even walk?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura nodded as she quickly got up and walked around the room. "See?! I'm perfectly fine!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Wasn't she really weak last night? Where did she get his new found energy?

"Whatever…" Sasuke said as he got up. "Just hurry up and change"

"Roger!" Sakura said as she saluted him. She soon walked to her room with ease.

Sasuke sighed as he finished his breakfast and changed into black denims. With a dark navy blue turtle neck, he wore a long grey jacket that went pass his hips. Sasuke soon grabbed a purple scarf as he wrapped it around his neck.

"Are you done yet Sakura?" Sasuke called out as he heard running down the hall

"Yeah, give me a minute!" Sakura said back as she ran down the hall a couple seconds later. Sakura was wearing a jade green skirt with a white turtle neck to go with it. Sakura was zipping up her red jacket with light brown fur on the hood and ends of her cuffs. She wore white stockings with brown boots as well.

When Sakura and Sasuke made it to Konoha Park, they were met with a white wonderland. Sakura immediately ran and formed a snowball in her hand.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out as Sasuke turned to look at her. He was met with a snowball.

Sakura soon cracked up laughing. "I'm sorry Sasuke-kun! I couldn't help my-"

Sakura felt the cold snow on her face. Sasuke just threw a snow ball at her face! That started the snowball fight. It lasted for a good 15 minutes before Sakura fell on her knees laughing. Sasuke fell down next to her as he let out a small laugh. The fun soon ended as Sakura began to cough. The coughing became worse as Sakura covered her mouth. Sasuke watched as red drops fall onto the white snow.

"Sakura! You're-"

"I'm fine Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said weakly.

"No, you're not!" Sasuke carried Sakura on his back. "We have to take you to the hospital quickly!"

Sasuke ran as fast as he could to the hospital. Sakura had clung on to him tightly.

"S-Sasuke-kun, it hurts" Sakura cried as she clutched where her heart was.

"Hang on, we're here" Sasuke said as he ran inside the hospital. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw a worried Uchiha.

"Where's the Hokage?" Sasuke asked.

"S-She's with a client right now" a nursed said.

"Tell her to come here now. Sakura is more important than that client" Sasuke snapped.

"What's going on here?" Shizune asked as she came into the room. She saw Sakura on Sasuke's back as she panicked. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. She started coughing out blood out of nowhere" Sasuke said.

"Come with me immediately!" Shizune said as Sasuke followed her to a room. Sasuke put Sakura on the bed as Shizune began to examine her.

"S-Sasuke-kun" Sakura coughed out more blood. Sasuke saw Sakura trying to reach out for his hand. He let her.

"I'm right here" Sasuke said. He soon looked up at Shizune. "What's wrong with her?"

"I'm trying to find that out!" Shizune said as she pushed some of her bangs away from her face. "It's her heart" Shizune said a few minutes later. "It's pumping more blood than it should, causing her to cough out the excess blood out."

"What would cause that?" Sasuke asked.

Shizune frowned. "For Sakura's case, she probably remembered something, saw, or heard something that could cause her to panic, be scared, sad, etc. Her heart couldn't take it. Did anything happen yesterday or last night?"

Sasuke was quiet for a minute as he recapped everything in his mind. "We had dinner with a couple friends over at my place. Sakura…she wasn't able to eat yesterday. She could barely break her chopsticks. Then Tenten made a big deal about it when I put Sakura back to her room. Itachi was with her after that…" Sasuke's eyes widened for a bit.

"She could have overheard the conversation from her room" Shizune said. "She's okay now. I think it would be best to have Sakura stay in the hospital overnight just in case she has another one of those attacks"

Sasuke nodded as he tightened his grip on Sakura's hands. "I'll come back to pick you up tomorrow. I have to send a letter to Naruto and the others."

Sakura weakly nodded. "Tell Naruto that I missed him"

Sasuke looked at Sakura for a bit before nodding. "I will"

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**Did you guys like that? Sasuke only has one month left with Sakura and things are looking downhill. Next chapter will probably show more of Naruto's mission trying to go after Kisame and Zetsu who are heading to Suna. So please wait til my next update. Please review and don't forget to read my new story Sakura Kiss. Thank you.**

**-Kumiko**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello everyone. I finally have the next chapter ready for you guys to read. The SasuSaku Arc is finally coming to an end and I know everyone is waiting for the NaruSaku arc in a few more chapters. Well, let's continue on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or else Sakura would have more awesome battle scenes like Sasori vs. Sakura!**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

Shizune frowned. "For Sakura's case, she probably remembered something, saw, or heard something that could cause her to panic, be scared, sad, etc. Her heart couldn't take it. Did anything happen yesterday or last night?"

Sasuke was quiet for a minute as he recapped everything in his mind. "We had dinner with a couple friends over at my place. Sakura…she wasn't able to eat yesterday. She could barely break her chopsticks. Then Tenten made a big deal about it when I put Sakura back to her room. Itachi was with her after that…" Sasuke's eyes widened for a bit.

"She could have overheard the conversation from her room" Shizune said. "She's okay now. I think it would be best to have Sakura stay in the hospital overnight just in case she has another one of those attacks"

_Sasuke nodded as he tightened his grip on Sakura's hands. "I'll come back to pick you up tomorrow. I have to send a letter to Naruto and the others."_

_Sakura weakly nodded. "Tell Naruto that I missed him"_

_Sasuke looked at Sakura for a bit before nodding. "I will"_

**XxXxXxX**

"Did you pick up anything Pakkun?" Kakshi asked.

"I got a trail. They're heading to Suna" Pakkun answered.

"That's 15 minutes from where we are" Sai answered.

"The quicker we get them back to Konoha, the quicker we can go back to Sakura-chan" Naruto said as he leaped ahead.

"Wai-Naruto!" Yamato called out.

"I wonder how Sakura is doing" Ino said to herself but Kakashi heard her.

"Don't worry. Sakura is strong. Besides, Sasuke is with her. You should know by now that Sasuke is really overprotective when it comes to Sakura" Kakashi said.

Ino let out a smile. "I know. He cares about her like a sister."

Kakashi smiled as well.

The team finally made it to Suna as they saw Temari walking towards the gate.

"Temari!" Ino called out. Temari looked behind her to see the ninja from Konoha.

"What are you guys doing here?" Temari asked.

"Akatsuki went to your village. We captured them earlier but they escaped" Kakashi said.

Temari's teal eyes widened. "Oh no" Everyone immediately ran into the village to see everything was perfectly fine. No one was fighting or running around screaming in terror.

"Naruto?" A voice said. Naruto looked to see Gaara walking up to them. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto had told him everything that happened when they all walked to his office.

"Akatsuki attacked Konoha?" Gaara said as he slapped his hands on his desk. "Why didn't you guys inform me about this? What kind of ally are we if we weren't there when they attacked."

"We didn't want your village to lose any more people" Yamato said. "Besides, this wasn't your battle."

Gaara growled as his hands turned into fists. "What was Akatsuki after?"

"Were they after Naruto again?" Kankuro asked.

Ino nodded. "And they were after Sakura. She has a bloodline."

"A bloodline?" Temari said as she furrowed her eyebrows. "How is that possible?"

"The Haruno bloodline…they have the power to heal 1,000 people all at once or kill the same amount. The bloodline was said to be extinct but it appeared in Sakura after many generations" Kakashi explained. "The leader of Akatsuki wanted that power."

"They didn't hurt her, did they?" Temari asked.

Everyone frowned. "The leader got a hold of her and messed up her mind really bad." Sai answered. Gaara growled as Sai continued. "Luckily Yamanaka, Naruto, and Sasuke were there to help her. Yamanaka used her bloodline to help get Sakura out of the deadly genjutsu she was in"

"Thank you Yamanaka" Gaara said. "Sakura is an important friend to me"

"To all of us" Temari smiled.

"Good job" Kankuro said as he grinned.

Ino smiled as she tried to fight back her tears.

"Now about Akatsuki" Kakashi said. "You must take off Itachi Uchiha from the hit list"

"What for?" Gaara asked. "Did the Uchiha finally kill his brother?"

"Yeah" Naruto said. "But Sakura-chan brought Itachi back to life."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Why did she do that?"

"Itachi isn't evil" Yamato said. "He was actually ordered by the elders to kill his family because his family was going to go against Konoha alongside with Danzou. He couldn't kill his brother though. He was left with enough guilt. So he left Sasuke with false words to get Sasuke to kill him."

"I heard about Danzou being sentenced to death as two elders were kicked out from the council" Temari said. "But I would have never thought Itachi was a good guy"

"He's actually watching over Sakura with Sasuke-kun as we speak" Ino said.

"This is too much to handle" Gaara said as he pinched the bride of his nose.

"Also, Itachi asked us to let his old partner, Kisame, free. Kisame wanted to live a normal life again. I think Itachi deserves this after what he had to go through for the village" Naruto said. "But we have to find out what they want with our revival scroll"

"A revival scroll?" Kankuro asked.

Naruto nodded. "Before the last Akatsuki members escaped Konoha, they stole a scroll"

Gaara sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine, then. We have to find them first!"

"Way ahead of you" Yamato said. "When we captured them, I planted tracking devices on the back of their necks."

"Why didn't you tell us that in the first place?" Kakashi asked as he sweat dropped.

"Because you had Pakkun out, Sempai" Yamato said.

"Let's just hurry and get them out of the village before they start trouble." Kankuro said as he took out his puppet.

**XxXxXxX**

Zetsu and Kisame made it to the most isolated area in Suna.

"This wasn't part of the plan." Zetsu said. **"You said it. I can't believe our leader lost the battle."**

"Shut up." Kisame said. "We have to just stay in the village for a few days, and then we split. I'm heading back to Mist and you can do whatever you wanted with that revival scroll. Are you trying to revive the whole Akatsuki?"

"Something better" Zetsu smirked. "**Much better**"

"Who are you going to revive?" Kisame asked.

Zetsu was about to answer when someone came up to them. There person was wearing a suspicious black hooded cape.

"I expect that you have what I want" The stranger said. His glasses glared due to the sun's rays through the clouds. Zetsu nodded as he tossed the scroll to him. The stranger nodded back. "I'll be seeing you in the future as I'll be keeping touch"

"You better keep your side of the deal" Zetsu said.

"Of course" With that the stranger left the two.

"Who was that?" Kisame asked.

"**A person doing business with me"**

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

**Beep**

Kisame narrowed his eyes. "Did you hear that?"

**Beep**

"There's a tracking device on the back of your ne-"Zetsu didn't finish his sentence as Kisame was pulled from under. All that was left was his head sticking out from the ground.

Zetsu was about to attack but was stopped when we was trapped in a sand coffin.

"**How did you-"**Yamato cut Zetsu off.

"I placed tracking devices on you when you were knocked out" Yamato answered as he looked over to the other Akatsuki member.

Kakashi came out and looked at Kisame. "Just stay there"

"And wait till you kill me next?" Kisame growled.

Naruto came up to Kisame and looked down at him. "I made a promise with Itachi. He asked me to spare your life if we were ever able to catch you two."

"Itachi did?" Kisame said surprised. He knew he had some sort of friendship with the silent Uchiha but he never knew Itachi would do such a kind thing for him.

"So don't worry, we won't kill you unless you give us a reason to" Naruto said. Kisame watched as Naruto walked away and helped Gaara to defeat Zetsu.

"Naruto…Uzumaki" Kisame mumbled.

Naruto made a shadow clone as he formed Rasegan in his hand. "This is for our village and Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as Zetsu's eyes widened. Naruto formed his hand into a gun like form. The Rasegan continued to rotate above his right index finger.

"Bang" Naruto said as the Rasegan flew towards Zetsu like a bullet shot out of a gun. Everyone watched as Gaara released his sand in time for Naruto's attack to hit Zetsu hard. Naruto had killed Zetsu with just one Rasegan attack. The others had never seen this kind of Rasegan. It was much stronger and deadlier. There was some chakra from the Kyuubi forming around the Rasegan as well. Ino with Yamato checked up on Zetsu. There was no pulse.

"We have to bring the body back to Konoha" Kakashi said as he pulled out a scroll. Taking a kunai, he extracted blood from his finger and began making the proper hand seals. He soon touched the middle of the scroll and Zetsu with his other hand. Zetsu disappeared as Kakashi rolled up the scroll.

"All done" Kakashi said.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Naruto said surprised. Naruto soon saw Kisame still stuck in the ground. He helped Kisame up.

"Thanks…" Kisame muttered.

"Where's the scroll you two stole from Konoha?" Sai asked.

"Zetsu gave it to this guy. I have no clue about the scroll Zetsu stole or what he and that guy were planning. Just know that I wasn't a part of it." Kisame said as he stared at the ground. "Hey, I know I don't have any right to ask, but can I go with you guy to Konoha to talk to Itachi and probably the Kunoichi once last time before I go back to mist?"

Naruto looked back at Kakashi who nodded.

"Alright. Just don't do anything funny when we take you there." Naruto soon looked at Gaara. "Do you want to go visit Konoha to see Sakura-chan as well?"

Gaara's eyes widened as he disappeared with his sand. Everyone had a 'WTF' look until Gaara reappeared with backpacks. He tossed the other bag towards Temari.

"You're coming with me" Gaara said to Temari who cheered.

"What about me?" Kankuro asked.

"I need someone to watch over the village for me" Gaara said.

"WHAT! But I wanted to visit Sakura as well!" Kankuro complained.

"But you're the only person that I trust this village with" Gaara said with a smirk.

"Yeah Kankuro" Temari also smirked. "You're strong"

"Fine" Kankuro said. "But next trip on visiting Konoha, I'm going!"

"Whatever" Gaara said. "Just make sure the village isn't in pieces when I come back or else it will be you who will be in pieces"

Kankuro gulped as he nodded. A bird had soon caught their attention as it flew down to Naruto.

"A hawk?" Naruto raised an eyebrow as a note was in its claws. Naruto took the note as they hawk flew away. "It's from Sasuke!"

Ino and Kakashi went up from behind Naruto as Naruto read the note out loud.

-

**Naruto,**

**You need to come back to the village as soon as you can. Sakura…her condition is getting worse. I'll explain everything when you get back. She's in the hospital right now under Shizune's care. She says she misses you, so get your ass back here as soon as you can, dobe. That means no stopping for ramen.**

**Sasuke**

**-  
**

Naruto frowned. "Damn it"

Ino bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying. Everyone looked down at the ground in sadness. Kisame felt awkward. He barely knew the kunoichi.

"Let's go" Kakashi said as Yamato began to head out of the village followed by Sai, Ino, Temari, Kisame, Naruto, Gaara, and then Kakashi himself.

Naruto looked up in the sky. "Sakura-chan, wait for me. I'm coming home"

**XxXxXxX**

The next day, Sasuke was able to bring Sakura back home from the hospital. Shizune wanted Sakura to stay longer, but Sakura protested saying she wanted to spend more time with Sasuke before she died. Tsunade and Shizune were shocked that Sakura knew about what was happening to her, so they let Sasuke take her.

"I'm sorry I'm being a burden" Sakura said as she tightened her arms around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke had to give her a piggy ride back home because the snow was too deep for her wheelchair. Itachi followed silently behind the two.

Sasuke winced when he heard Sakura say that. Man, he really was a bastard to her when they were little.

"Hn" Sasuke said as he adjusted himself. The three finally made it back to the house as Sasuke set Sakura on her bed. Itachi rested his hand on her forehead.

"She's burning up" Itachi said. "She's sick"

As if to emphasis Itachi's words, Sakura began to cough.

"I'm sorry" Sakura said as she began to wipe her tears away. Sasuke sighed. Shizune had told him that these were effects of her attack yesterday.

"Go get her some medicine at the store." Sasuke told his older brother. Itachi raised an eyebrow at Sasuke.

"You want me to go outside when it's snowing hard?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke smirked. "You have enough charka to make a shield for yourself so you won't be able to feel the cold."

Itachi didn't say anything after that he left the two alone.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered.

"Hm?" Sasuke said as he looked at her.

"I'm dying" Sakura said as she shut her eyes tightly. Sasuke's eyes widened. So she really did overhear Tenten and the others that night.

"No, you're not!" Sasuke growled. "I won't let you give up so easily"

"Why try?" Sakura asked when she opened her eyes to look at Sasuke. "You always said I was weak, didn't you?"

Ouch, another blow at his guilt and regrets. Sakura bit her lower lip as if regretting she didn't say that.

"I'm sorry" Sakura soon said. "I just remembered some things from our Genin days that made me resentful about it"

"Hn" Sasuke said as he left the room. Sakura frowned. Did she make him mad or upset? Sakura sat up as she changed into her green pajamas. Grabbing her yellow blanket, she wrapped it around herself as she tried to get herself warm.

Sasuke. He always seemed to be mad or sad when she was around. She always wanted to make him happy. She was still confused about her feelings for Sasuke and Naruto. Who was she really in love with? She remembered being in love with Sasuke. She even confessed her love to him. But then, why did she always feel like her world became brighter and nicer when Naruto was around? Why did she feel like nothing bad would harm her when he was with her? She could always feel her cheeks warm up and her stomach would feel like there are butterflies inside her. To be honest, she loved feeling that way. Was Naruto just a teammate or friend to her, or was he something much greater than that?

Sakura's head began to hurt again as well as her heart.

A couple minutes later, she heard someone enter her room with a knock on the door.

"Itachi-kun" Sakura greeted with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Better than yesterday" She said. Itachi handed her medicine.

"Take that after you eat something"

"Thank you" Sakura said as she took the medicine from Itachi and set it aside.

"I saw Naruto-kun and the others" Itachi said. "They seemed to have finished their mission"

"Are you going to see your friend?" Sakura asked.

"Friend?" Itachi questioned.

"You know the one with the blue skin. Kisame was his name I think. Isn't he your best friend or something? I overheard you talking to Naruto-san before he left for his mission. You asked him to spare Kisame-san's life, didn't you?" Sakura said. "Your friend would want to thank you, I know it"

Itachi let out a small smile as he ruffled Sakura' hair. "Take care while I'm gone"

Sakura smiled. Naruto was back. She couldn't wait to see him, but she wanted to get better quickly before she did. She didn't want Naruto worrying.

The door kicked opened as Sasuke entered the room with a tray of food.

"Here" Sasuke said as he put the tray down. There was freshly made miso soup in front of Sakura.

"D-Did you make this Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke blushed. "If you don't like it, I'll make something else."

Sakura began to eat in silence as Sasuke hugged his knees and watched her.

"It's delicious" Sakura grinned at him. Soon there was silence between them again.

"You're not weak" Sasuke began to say. "You're actually tougher than you think. You beat an Akatsuki member. You were able to surpass the Hokage and were able to escape from the Mangekyou. You never give up. That's what you're really good at" Sasuke looked at Sakura to see her mouth dropped and eyes wide open.

"Did Sasuke Uchiha actually compliment me?" Sakura asked. "Am I in a genjutsu?"

Sakura did a hand seal. "Kai"

Sasuke started at Sakura for a couple seconds as he sweat dropped.

"I guess not" Sakura said. "Sasuke-kun really is a kind person"

Sasuke's cheeks turned pink as he glared at her. Sakura knew the glare wasn't serious or anything, so she laughed.

"You're still annoying" Sasuke said. Sakura raised the spoon to her pink lips as she smiled.

_Sasuke-kun..._

_Thank you…_

"I like your cooking!" Sakura said as she took another bite. Sasuke turned around as his blush increased.

"Don't tell the dobe or anyone that I cooked for you!" Sasuke said embarrassed.

"Okay" Sakura said.

Sasuke looked back to see the smiling face as he let himself smile just a little. He was close. He could feel it. He was one step closer into making her happy.

"Sasuke-kun!" A voice called out.

"Karin…" Sasuke sighed.

"Karin-chan!" Sakura said excitedly as she went to hug her.

"I heard you were sick, so I came to visit" Karin said.

"She was worried sick" Suigetsu said as he and Jugo popped their head out from the hallway.

"How did you get in?" Sasuke asked.

"The front door was unlocked" His former teammates said in sync.

"Itachi" Sasuke frowned.

"There's going to be a winter festival coming up" Jugo said as he handed Sasuke the flyer. "If Sakura-san is better by then, we should all go together"

"A festival! I'd love to go" Sakura said.

"That means we have to buy you a new kimono" Karin grinned. "Ino and the others can go with us as well if you'd like"

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! That reminds me! Sasuke-kun, Na-"

"SAKURA-CHAN!" A loud voice shouted throughout the house as Sakura felt someone flew themselves on her. Sakura opened her eyes to see a familiar boy with blonde hair and blue eyes looking at her. She soon realized how close their faces were.

"Naruto-san!" Sakura said as she punched him in the face. Her face was red from embarassement as Naruto was sent flying through the wall.

Suigetsu whistled. "Damn"

"Seems like our princess is getting better" Kakashi said as he came in reading his book.

"Kaka-sensei!" Sakura grinned.

"Karin" Sasuke said as he got up from the floor. "Watch Sakura for me. I need to talk to Kakashi and Naruto"

"Yeah, sure" Karin said as she frowned. She knew what happened to Sakura. She was there in the hospital when Sasuke brought Sakura in. To be honest, it really scared her seeing Sakura like that. Sakura…well she'd rather marry Rock Lee than say it, but she thought of Sakura as a little sister. That moment made her realize that the day when Sakura's time comes to an end, she would be hurting…a lot.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"What happened to her?" Naruto asked as they were in the kitchen.

"She had an attack" Sasuke said. Naruto's and Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Did she remember something?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "She was just playing in the snow and laughing until she began to cough. At first, I didn't think anything of it until she began to cough out blood. I quickly took her to the hospital. Shizune thinks she's acting like this because she must have remembered, saw, or heard something that could cause her to sad or some other strong emotion. The other night, Sakura invited Neji's and my old team for dinner. When we were eating…"

"Sakura-san wasn't able to break her chopsticks" The three turned around to see Suigetsu and Jugo entering the kitchen. It was Jugo that spoke.

"Sasuke took her back to her room afterwards to rest. Then that chick with the buns got all emotional and crazy and began to yell. She soon stormed off with her team following after her. We left after." Suigetsu said as he was drinking from his bottle of water.

"But she seemed okay" Naruto said.

"For now" Kakashi said. "Who knows if Sakura is going to have another attack or something far more worse."

"Also…" Sasuke began to say. "My team and I are going to be leaving after the end of the month"

"What?!" Naruto shouted as he pushed Sasuke up against the wall. "How can you leave like that?"

"We're going to find a cure for Sakura" Sasuke said with no emotion showing in his face. "Karin did some research about someone with the same case. We're going to figure out what happened. We'll come back as soon as we find something."

Naruto released Sasuke as he stared at the ground. "I thought you were going to abandon Sakura-chan again. I didn't want Sakura-chan to be sad again."

"Sakura would be a lot happier with you" Sasuke muttered. Kakashi smiled. It was about time someone hinted Sakura's feelings to Naruto.

"Just promise me you'll come back before she-" Naruto didn't finish his sentence. He was scared to.

"We won't let that happen" Sasuke said. "I only have a week before we depart"

**XxXxXxX**

"Look at all the lights!" Sakura grinned as everyone made it to the festival.

Everyone was playing games, eating, buying things, or just drinking with friends at their own spot. Sakura watched the fireworks in the sky. Team Seven and Team Hebi sat together as everyone was drinking some sake that Kakashi had brought. Karin and Suigetsu were already knocked out along with Naruto. Sai had gone to looking around the area as Yamato was nowhere to be found. Sakura had finished her last cup as she hiccupped. She was gone.

"Jugo, I trust that you'll take the couple back home" Kakashi said pointing at Karin and Suigetsu cuddled up together.

"Yes" Jugo said as he carried one in each arm.

"I'll be taking Naruto back home. So I'll be leaving Sakura in your hands. Don't do anything perverted to her on the way home when you're ready to leave" Kakashi said.

Sasuke glared at his old sensei. "I won't since I'm not you"

Kakashi nodded as he walked away with Naruto. Sasuke sighed as he looked over to Sakura. He might as well go home. He carried Sakura on his back as they began to walk back to the Uchiha Compound. After a couple minutes, Sasuke looked around his surroundings to see he was walking on a trail on the other side of the lake were the festival was being held at.

"Sa…Sasuke-kun…" Sakura muttered as she tightened her grip around his neck. Sasuke felt something wet drop onto his shirt. Sasuke made a face.

"Sakura…did you just drool on me?" Sasuke asked. He soon felt more drops down his shirt. His eyes widened. Sakura wasn't drooling, she was crying.

"Sasuke-kun…." Sakura said a little louder. "I…I love you"

Sasuke sighed. "You don't love me Sakura. Not like that. You're in love with someone else. So…save those words for him."

"How… do you know?" Sakura asked. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks.

Sasuke let out a smirk. "Because that idiot is very much in love with you! I really…just think of you as…an important person to me. Like a sister"

It was silent as Sasuke continued to walk. The fireworks were still lighting up the sky. He could still hear Sakura crying.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura soon said breaking the silence between them. "Until I can stop crying, is it okay if I stay in love with you…just a little bit longer?"

Sasuke didn't stop walking as they walked passed Konoha Park.

"Sure" Sasuke finally said. Sakura began to cry more.

"I love you" Sakura said.

"Yeah"

"I love you"

"Ah"

"I love you"

"Hn"

"I really love you"

"Hm"

"I really, really love you"

"Hn"

Sakura tightened her grip more.

"I-I'm sorry" Sakura cried. "I'm truly sorry"

Sasuke smiled. He knew what Sakura was saying sorry for. She was sorry for not being in love with him anymore. She loved Naruto, and he was okay with that.

"I know" Sasuke said as the two finally made it back to the Uchiha Compound. Sakura had fallen asleep as he entered the house. Sasuke took Sakura to her room as he tucked her in. He was going to be leaving in three days. He had to break the news to her before then. He just didn't know how without Naruto wanting to kick his ass for making Sakura cry again.

-

-

-

-

**I'm sorry if this chapter is somewhat of a mood downer. I was running out of idea with the SasuSaku arc of this story. So I wanted to hurry up with the NaruSaku arc, because I know that's what everyone's waiting for. I wonder how I'm going to make Sasuke break the news to Sakura. If you guys noticed, that last part was based from Honey and Clover (a really good anime, I must say). Anyways, have you guys read the latest chapter of Naruto? It was epic! My favorite part was when Zetsu came out of nowhere during the meeting. Everyone was like WTF! I was grinning. I can't believe Sakura gave permission for herself and the others to kill Sasuke themselves to stop the war. I'm so excited. I can't wait till the next chapter. But I want Kishimoto to stop making Sakura always cry and let her freaking do something really cool like fight Sasuke or something that would have all the Sakura-fans screaming and getting excited. Please just let her stop crying. I swear every chapter I read had Sakura crying. Someone give the girl some water to drink before she becomes dehydrated. LOL. Anyways, please wait till my next update. THANK YOU FOR READING. PLEASE REVIEW EVERYONE.**

**-Kumiko**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey everyone. School is going to start next week. What a drag. With the rest of my summer, I'll try to update my stories before school starts. I think everyone knows what's going to happen in this chapter, please sit back and enjoy this read. Please review at the end everyone. Thank you.**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

"_I really, really love you" _

"_Hn"_

_Sakura tightened her grip more._

"_S-Sasuke-kun…"_

"_Hm?"_

"_I-I'm sorry" Sakura cried. "I'm truly sorry"_

_Sasuke smiled. He knew what Sakura was saying sorry for. She was sorry for not being in love with him anymore. She loved Naruto, and he was okay with that._

"_I know" Sasuke said as the two finally made it back to the Uchiha Compound. Sakura had fallen asleep as he entered the house. Sasuke took Sakura to her room as he tucked her in. He was going to be leaving in three days. He had to break the news to her before then. He just didn't know how without Naruto wanting to kick his ass for making Sakura cry again._

**XxXxXxX**

The doorbell of the Uchiha compound rang as Sai went to open the door.

"Good afternoon Sai-kun!" The guest greeted.

"Hello…beautiful" Sai gave Ino a fake smile. Ino laughed.

"Sorry, I'm taken if you forgotten. Where's Sakura?" Ino asked. Sai looked down at her hands as he noticed a bag with hair products, scissors, etc.

"She's in her room" Sai said as he let Ino in.

"Yamanaka, you're late" Sasuke said as he was leaning against the wall. Ino looked at the clock in the living room as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, by like a minute" Ino said. Sasuke led Ino to Sakura who was combing her long hair in front of her mirror.

"Hey Forehead-girl!" Ino said as she hugged Sakura from behind. Sasuke could see Sakura's surprised look in the reflection.

"Ino-pig" Sakura greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to cut your hair. I noticed how long it's been getting, and I decided that you should have that short hairstyle like before" Ino explained.

Sakura smiled. "It's like you read my mind. My hair was getting too long for me!"

"Well, let's get started" Ino said as she got a squirt bottle and began to spray Sakura's hair with water. Sasuke took this as a cue to leave. As he was about to walk away from the room, he heard their conversation.

"How was the festival last night?" Ino asked. "I didn't get to see you there"

"It was fun. Everyone got drunk though" Sakura said. "Even I did as well. Sasuke-kun… had to take me back home"

Ino noticed Sakura's expression. "Did something happen between you two?"

"I apologized for not being able to love him like I used to. He knew I was in love with someone else" Sakura said as a sad smile appeared on her face. "Sasuke-kun really is a kind person"

Ino smiled. "Be happy. At least Sasuke has some type of love for you. Even though it's not the same love you had before, he really cares about you. You're like a sister to him. What can be better than that? All his fangirls would kill to have him at least look at their direction."

Sakura laughed. "I guess your right"

"So you forgive him for everything he's done to you in the past? I heard from Hinata that you remembered a lot" Ino said as she cut Sakura's hair up to her shoulders. "I mean, you've known what he's done right?"

Sakura looked at Ino confused. "You're talking about him leaving the village and leaving me on that bench right?"

"You-"Ino stopped herself. She realized that if Sakura is to remember more of her past, she's going to get worse. "Yeah, leaving you on that bench"

"Ino, Sasuke-kun did it to protect me. He's always been protecting me. So of course I forgive him" Sakura smiled. Sasuke heard this as he felt this warm feeling. Was this feeling his guilt and regrets getting off his chest? "Sasuke-kun is Sasuke-kun no matter what he does" Sakura said.

Sasuke let a smile on his face that day. Maybe he finally did it. He finally made her happy. Sasuke walked down his hall to find Tsunade. He had something important to talk about.

After a couple more minutes, Ino had finished fixing Sakura's hair. "Taa-daa!"

"Wow! My hair looks so cool" Sakura grinned. "You should be a hair stylist"

Ino smiled as her ego inflated. "I know I'm awesome. Hm, why don't we go out for dinner today? It would be fun to have everyone together again." She began to clean up the hair on the floor.

"I'd like that a lot" Sakura said.

Ino looked at the clock. "Well let's all eat at 7. That will give everyone 3 hours to get ready. I have to tell everyone too. See you later Forehead-girl"

"Bye, Ino-pig" Sakura waved Ino goodbye as she left her room.

"Are you and Yamanaka done hanging out?" Sai asked as he entered the room. He noticed Sakura's hairstyle. It was just like before.

"Wow! You-"Sakura stopped Sai with a glare.

"Call me ugly and you'll be flying through 5 concrete walls" Sakura said. Sai sweat dropped but smiled. Sakura was really becoming like her old self.

"I was going to say you look nice today" Sai said. "I heard Yamanaka talking about dinner with everyone. Since we have a few hours, do you want to go around town? You haven't really been out that much…with your condition and all"

"Sure. Let me get changed" Sakura said as she shooed Sai out of her room. Sai went to change as well.

After a few minutes, Sakura came out of her room. Sakura was wearing a yellow long sleeve shirt. She wore a black skirt with black leggings under. She topped it off with a white trench coat and beige boots that went up to her calves. She had a red scarf around her neck with matching earmuffs and mittens.

Sai was wearing a black trench coat as well with black pants. He had dark blue mittens and earmuffs.

"Where's Sasuke-kun and Naruto-san?" Sakura asked noticing that she and Sai were the only people in the house. She knew that Kakashi and Yamato went out today.

"Naruto and Sasuke went to talk to the Hokage" Sai said as he led Sakura outside the house.

It wasn't snowing and the roads were shoveled making it easy to walk around. "What are they doing over at Tsunade-sama's office?" Sakura asked.

"To talk about a mission" Sai answered.

"They're going on another mission? But Naruto-san just came back from one" Sakura pouted.

"Sorry Ugly, but it's classified." Sai said. Sakura sighed as she linked arms with Sai and continued their walk.

"SAKURA-SAN!" A voice called out."

Sakura turned around to see Lee, Tenten, and Neji walking behind them. Well more like Lee jumping in the air as Tenten and Neji walked behind him.

"Hello" Sakura greeted. "Are you guys going to dinner with us later?"

"Of course" Tenten said. "I wouldn't miss a moment hanging out with you and the others"

"Where are you heading Sakura?" Neji asked.

"Sai and I are just taking a walk around the village until we have to meet up with everyone" Sakura answered. "How about you guys?"

"We have a meeting with Gai-sensei!" Lee said. "We're going to train" Soon Lee had an idea. "Sakura-san! You and Sai-san should come join us for a while. We can become youthful together" Lee did his good guy pose as he shined his teeth. Sai shined his teeth back.

Sakura and the others had to shield their eyes. The light, it was too bright for them to handle!

"No! They got Sai too!" Tenten cried.

"I want to see you guys train" Sakura said excitedly. "Can we go Sai?"

Sai nodded. "I always wanted to try out the uniform Gai-sensei gave me, Naruto, and Sasuke." Sai pulled out the matching green spandex.

Neji and Tenten paled as Sakura looked at the suit confused. "How come I don't get one?"

Neji and Tenten grabbed Sakura towards them.

"Trust us" Tenten spoke.

"You don't want that" Neji finished.

The five walked to the dojo to see Gai-sensei waiting for them.

"Oh ho! What is this, my rival's students are here as well!" Gai smiled as he grinned at them. Tenten and Neji immediately pulled out sunglasses as they covered Sai's and Sakura's eyes.

"Gai-sensei. I invited them to watch our youthful training for a while" Lee said as he grinned at his sensei.

"Good job Lee!" Gai said as he patted him on the shoulder. "Shall we begin our training?"

Sakura and Sai found a seat near the door as they watched Gai's team.

"If I don't do 200 pushups, I will do 400 laps around Konoha!" Lee said.

Sakura began to have a distant look in her eyes as she began to remember something.

**XxXxX**

"_Sakura, you seem tired." Kakashi said. "Why don't you take the day off while I continue to train Sasuke and Naruto?"_

"_I-I'm not tired Kaka-sensei! I can keep going" Sakura lied as she tried to get up._

"_Sakura" Kakashi said. Sakura knew better to continue arguing with Kakashi when he used that type of tone on her._

"_It's okay Sakura-chan, we'll all train tomorrow" Naruto said waving her of._

"_Weak" Sasuke said as he went to train with Naruto._

_Sakura clenched her fists as she ran away. This was just another way for Kakashi to remind her of how weak she was. She stopped in the middle of the forest as she punched the tree in front of her._

"_If I don't do 200 pushups, I will do 400 laps around Konoha!" A voice said that startled Sakura. Looking through the trees, she saw Lee training. I must keep training in order to keep up with Neji-kun! Just because I can't do jutsu like the others or I don't come from a noble family, I will get stronger through hard work and determination!" Lee said as he finished his pushups._

_Sakura was in awe. Lee was somewhat like her. She didn't come from a noble family like Sasuke. She didn't have some powerful jutsu or bloodline like Naruto and the others. Like Lee said, through hard work and determination, she will get stronger._

_Sakura made herself noticed as she walked towards Lee._

"_Sakura-san!" Lee greeted. "What are you doing here?"_

_Sakura looked at her feet a bit embarrassed._

"_Will you train me when you're not busy? I want to get stronger in order to keep up with Naruto and Sasuke-kun." Sakura said as she bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying._

_Lee's eyes shined with approval and respect. "Of course"_

_**XxXxX**_

Gai looked at Sakura and smirked. "Let us intense your training, Lee. Sakura, sit on Lee's back"

Sakura's eyes widened as she felt Gai carry her and made her sit Indian style on Lee.

Tenten and Neji had stopped sparring as they watched Lee easily do the pushups.

"I'm not heavy, am I?" Sakura asked embarrassed to be doing this.

"You're not heavy at all. You feel like a child on my back" Lee commented, unaware of how sad that comment made his girlfriend feel.

"Neji…"Tenten said biting her lower lip. "She's getting worse…"

Neji looked at Tenten then to Sakura's smiling face as Lee continued to do push ups. "I know. The saddest part is I don't think she even knows how bad her condition is. I'm not planning to have her know. I just want to see her smiling face as long as I can."

"We all do" Tenten responded.

After Lee finished 200 push ups, Sakura and Sai decided to leave to continue their walk around the village.

"See you three later" Sakura said as Sai waved goodbye to them.

The two walked until they went up to a pet store. Sakura's eyes caught a familiar dog in the store.

"Akamaru" Sakura called out. Akamaru turned his head around and saw Sakura. He barked happily as she jumped her as they fell on to the snow. Sakura laughed as Akamaru began to lick her cheek. She took it that he missed her.

"Akamaru, what are you-Sakura!" Kiba called out as he got Akamaru off her. He helped Sakura up as he brushed off some of the snow on her. "Sorry about that. Akamaru missed you a lot."

"It's okay. Were you buying something?" Sakura asked.

Kiba nodded. "I was just buying more snacks for Akamaru. Then, we were going to go visit Kurenai –sensei and her son." Kiba's eyes widened. "You two haven't gotten to see her son! You two should go with me. Hinata and Shino will be there."

"Let's go" Sakura said. The four walked to Kurenai's house as Shino answered the door.

"Hey Kiba" Shino greeted. He then noticed the other two in the back. "Sakura-san? Sai-san?"

"Hello" The two greeted.

"Sakura is here?" Kurenai's voice was heard from inside the house. "Let them in. I'll make some hot chocolate for you guys" Sakura and Sai walked inside the house as they saw Kurenai giving her son to Hinata as she went to the kitchen.

"Sakura-chan" Hinata greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Kiba invited us over" Sakura said. Sai looked at the baby. He had the red eyes he got from Kurenai and the raven hair. His skin was a bit tanner like Asuma.

"What's his name?" Sakura asked as the infant smiled at Sakura.

"Kuukai" Shino said. "Kuukai Asuma Saratobi."

"Hello Kuukai. I'm Sakura" Sakura said as Kuukai grabbed her index finger and giggled.

"Would you like to hold him Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

Sakura nodded as Hinata gentle put Kuukai in Sakura's arms. Kurenai soon came in with hot chocolate.

"I hope Sai and I aren't intruding" Sakura said.

"Oh, not at all. You haven't been over since…since you've been going on a lot of missions. I don't know if you remember, but I-"Sakura cut Kurenai off.

"You teach me Genjutsu" Sakura smiled.

"Yeah. How have you been?" Kurenai asked as she passed the hot chocolate around. She noticed the sad look Sai had on his face. Hinata had told her what was going on as well.

"I'm doing fine" Sakura grinned. Kurenai's heart had more just seeing that smile.

Everyone hung out for a while before they decided to head over to the BBQ restaurant where everyone was. Sakura invited Kurenai and Kuukai to come as well.

"Do you want to ride on Akamaru? He won't mind" Kiba offered as he was holding hands with Hinata.

"Can I really?" Sakura asked.

Akamaru barked as if saying it was okay. He lowered himself so Sakura could get on his back.

"Don't make her fall, boy" Kiba warned. Akamaru began to move as Sakura laughed.

"Sai-kun…" Hinata began to say noticing that Sakura was out of earshot. "Is it true about Sakura-chan's condition? Neji-niisan told me about what happened at dinner"

"I'm afraid so. I wasn't there but I overheard Uchiha talking to Naruto and Kakashi-sensei about it" Sai said.

"Arg! This makes me mad" Kiba growled quietly trying not to get Sakura's attention. "What the hell did she do to deserve this?"

Hinata winced at the pain on her wrist.

"Kiba! Calm down. You're hurting Hinata" Kurenai said. Kiba noticed that he was griping tightly on Hinata's wrist.

"Oh! Sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to" Kiba said as he kissed her wrist. It was slightly bruising.

Hinata blushed. "I know. Everyone knows by now that there's nothing we can do but pray"

"I wonder how Naruto is going to feel when it happens." Shino said. "I know I'll be upset. Sakura is a good friend of mine."

"I know what you mean. If we feel upset, Naruto would feel like his world is ending. That idiot's been in love with her since they were little" Kiba said.

The six finally made it to the restaurant to see everyone was there. They were the last to arrive.

"You're late!" Kakashi said.

"You're one to talk" Sakura muttered as Kakashi chuckled.

"I see you cut your hair short. It looks better. You look older" Kakashi commented.

"Thank you" Sakura said. "Ino did it for me"

Sakura soon looked around as she saw an empty spot between Naruto and Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan! Sit here!" Naruto said. Sakura nodded as she hurried to her spot.

"How was your mission?" Sakura asked.

"We beat the bad guys like usual" Naruto grinned.

"I wonder when I can do a mission" Sakura said.

"You'll have to talk to Tsunade-sama about that" Itachi said who sat next to Sasuke.

Everyone soon began talking and eating as Yamato was taking pictures of everyone. He took pictures of the girls together, then the guys, then the whole group.

"Can each group take a picture with Sakura?" Suigetsu asked. Sakura's eyes widened and then understood. They wanted memories with her before she…Sakura didn't finished that thought.

"Sure" Yamato said. "Let's have your group go first"

Sakura and Karin stood next to each other as Suigetsu put an arm around Karin's waist. Jugo stood behind the three.

"We're next!" Tenten said excited.

Tenten and Sakura did peace signs as Lee had an arm around Tenten's shoulders as Neji did the same with Sakura. Gai was in the back doing some weird youthful pose.

"Ino's group" Yamato called out.

Ino and Sakura laced their hands together and raised it to their chest as they both lifted a leg in the air. Shikamaru and Chouji had their arms around each other's shoulder.

"My group would like to go next" Kurenai volunteered.

Hinata and Sakura hugged each other as they looked into the camera. Kurenai was showing off Kuukai. Kiba squatted in the picture with Akamaru and Shino.

"See! They're already taking pictures" Temari's voice rang as her and the Kazekage entered the restaurant.

"You can still take pictures" Naruto said as he pushed the siblings in.

"Temari-chan!" Sakura said as she flew herself onto Temari. "I missed you"

Temari laughed. "I missed you too Sakura. You're still the same as ever"

Sakura laughed too as she soon noticed Gaara behind her.

Sakura hesitated before giving Gaara a hug. The whole restaurant froze to see how Gaara would respond. Gaara's eyes widened before slowly hugging Sakura back.

"Wow, hell must be freezing over" Ino commented.

"We'll take a picture with Sakura" Temari said as she grabbed Gaara and Sakura and put an arm around their shoulders. Gaara's and Sakura's shoulders were touching.

"Okay, finally Team Seven" Yamato said as he nervously gave the camera to Itachi. Sakura glared at Itachi when she noticed that he still had his Sharingan activated.

"Itachi! What did I say about your Sharingan?!" Sakura said as she put her hands on her hips. Itachi sighed as he turned it off.

Yamato stood next to Kakashi who was reading his book. Naruto immediately latched himself on to Sakura with a hug. Sasuke soon came as he laced his right hand with hers. His left hand was on Naruto's left shoulder. Sakura smiled but then noticed that one person was missing. She looked to see Sai standing next to Itachi.

"Sai?" Sakura said looking at him worried.

"I was just a replacement…" Sai muttered. But Sakura heard him and frowned.

"Sai, you know as much as I do that you're an official member of the team." Sakura said.

"You're our close friend Sai" Naruto said. "Don't ever think different"

"…Ah" Sasuke said.

Sai's eyes widened as he slowly made his way next to Sasuke as Sakura grabbed his hand and smiled. Sai wrapped his hand around Naruto's left hand as he smiled back at Sakura.

"Give me some room" Naruto said as he tried to tighten his hug around Sakura. Sakura blushed. Yamato made a peace sign as Kakashi continued to read waiting for everyone to settle down.

Itachi rolled his eyes as he took the picture. (**A/N: The group picture is from Arriku with the Team 7 pose)**

After dinner, everyone continued to talk as Sakura was busy talking to Itachi.

"Hey Sakura" Karin called out as Sakura looked at her. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

Sakura looked back at Itachi who nodded as he went off to talk to Kakashi. Sakura smiled as she got up and followed Karin outside the restaurant. As they were heading out, Karin made eye contact as she saw Suigetsu, Jugo, and Sasuke looking at her.

"Is something wrong Karin-chan?" Sakura asked when they sat down on a bench. Karin was silent for a bit as she watched some snowflakes fall to the ground.

"Sakura…" Karin began to say. Sakura was shocked when Karin hugged her tightly.

"K-Karin-chan?" Sakura said as she could feel the girl shaking. Sakura moved away a bit as she stared at Karin's face. She could see the tears threatening to fall but Karin was a proud girl who wouldn't break down crying in front of someone.

"You better not give up" Sakura heard Karin say. "You better fight with all your might"

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. Karin shook her head as she rested her forehead on Sakura's shoulder.

"She thinks of you as a sister" Suigetsu said as he walked up to the girls with Jugo behind him.

"We really care about you Sakura-san" Jugo said.

"What's going on, I'm confused" Sakura said.

"It's nothing…" Karin said. "I just want you to know, no matter what happens, we'll always be thinking of you. So you better be in good health"

Sakura felt Karin let go as she walked away with Jugo and Suigetsu. Sakura sighed. That was really random.

"There you are!" Naruto said as he ran up to Sakura. "What are you doing outside?"

"I was just talking to Karin-chan and the others" Sakura said.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

Sakura smiled. "I'm fine. Let's go back home"

Naruto helped Sakura up from the bench as she saw Sasuke and the others waiting for her. Naruto held Sakura's hand as he led them to the group.

"Let's go home" Sasuke said as he grabbed Sakura's other hand. Sai stood in the back with Kakashi, Yamato, and Itachi.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Yamato asked.

"If the Hokage thinks this is the best, we have to go with her judgment" Itachi said.

"But Sakura…" Sai began to say but stopped when Kakashi closed his book.

"Will benefit from it" Kakashi said.

**XxXxXxX**

Sakura had finished taking a bath as she towel dried her hair. As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Sasuke leaning on the side of the door.

"Hey Sasuke-kun" Sakura said. She noticed that Sasuke looked like he was going to go on a mission.

"Come with me" Sasuke said as he led Sakura out of the bathroom. As the two walked out of the bathroom, Naruto and the others saw the two. Sai looked at Naruto to see him clenching his fists. Sai was about to stop Sasuke with his plan but Naruto stopped him.

"Let it be. Sasuke needs to do this…" Naruto said. "This is to protect Sakura-chan" Naruto soon got up as he slowly followed his best friends.

"Sasuke-kun, where are you taking me?" Sakura asked. Sasuke had taken Sakura to his parents' bedroom. Sakura cringed as she could still see the blood stains.

"I'm leaving…" Sasuke said. Sakura frowned as Sasuke continued. "I don't know how long I'll be gone. I'm leaving the village with Karin and the others.

"What?!" Sakura said. "Why?" Tears were forming in her eyes. Why would Sasuke leave again? He knew the truth about Itachi. What reason did Sasuke have to leave the village again?

"It's better if you don't remember me" Sasuke said. "All your memories of me will hurt you. I caused you the most heartbreak and pain over the years. I want you to hate me. I want you to hurt me. I don't want you to forgive me."

Sakura growled as she punched Sasuke in the face. He was sent flying out into the hallway. Naruto paused as he could see down the hallway. Everyone could.

"How dare you? Why are you ruining everything when everyone is happy?!" Sakura snapped.

"Hit me again" Sasuke said. "I deserve it"

"Fight back!" Sakura shouted as she punched him in the face again. "Fight me back!"

"I won't" Sasuke said.

"Naruto-san is happy that you came back to the village. We spent years training to bring you back. Then you're going to leave again?" Sakura asked as tears fell.

"Who said I was happy coming back to the village?" Sasuke asked. "I don't want to spend the rest of my time in the village if I have to watch you die!" Sasuke shouted as he pushed Sakura off him. Sakura's eyes widened as she fell on her butt.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered. Sasuke stood up as he crouched down next to Sakura. Naruto and Itachi watched in the hallway as Sakura was pulled into a hug. Sasuke's mouth was close to Sakura's right ear as he must have said something because Sakura's eyes widened as more tears fell. Sakura moved her left hand to where her heart was.

"I'll be back with a cure. That's my promise to you" Sasuke said as he pushed Sakura away arms length. Sasuke activated his Sharingan as Sakura stared at it. "You better not die before I come back"

Sakura felt her world darkening as she slowly closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was Sasuke smiling at her with a true smile. "I'm sorry" Sasuke said as Sakura fell back onto the floor.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he ran up to Sakura on the floor.

"My job here is done" Sasuke said as he stared at Sakura once more. "She'll be out the whole night"

"You erased her memories of you, didn't you" Itachi said. "With your Sharingan"

"Ah" Sasuke said.

"Is this what you and Naruto-kun went to talk to Tsunade-sama about?" Sai asked as he came into the room.

"Sasuke talked to Tsunade about his plan. She thinks it would be a good thing. To Sakura, it will be like Sasuke never existed" Kakashi said.

Sasuke began to walk away from the group as he adjusted his backpack. "Dobe" Sasuke said.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"You better make sure she's alive when I come back." Sasuke said as he disappeared into the night.

Naruto watched his best friend disappear as he looked back at Sakura who was in his arms.

"I'll protect you no matter what" Naruto said. "Because that's my way of the ninja and I never go back on my word!"

A lone tear rolled down the corner of Sakura's left eye.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered.

**-**

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**Don't get mad at me! Sasuke and his team left to find a cure for Sakura. Karin knew what Sasuke was going to do, so she hugged her and stuff. So let's see how Sakura will react to Sasuke's jutsu. Will it backfire or will it work? We'll find out next time. The whole Sai thing with the suit was from this one Naruto extra in Shippuden where Gai-sensei came up to Sai to make him...dare i say it...more YOUTHFUL! Haha at the end Sakura called him gay. ****Anyways...PLEASE REVEIEW!**

**-Kumiko**


	28. Chapter 28

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_My job here is done" Sasuke said as he stared at Sakura once more. "She'll be out the whole night"_

"_You erased her memories of you, didn't you" Itachi said. "With your Sharingan"_

"_Ah" Sasuke said._

"_Is this what you and Naruto-kun went to talk to Tsunade-sama about?" Sai asked as he came into the room._

"_Sasuke talked to Tsunade about his plan. She thinks it would be a good thing. To Sakura, it will be like Sasuke never existed" Kakashi said._

_Sasuke began to walk away from the group as he adjusted his backpack. "Dobe" Sasuke said._

"_What?" Naruto asked._

"_You better make sure she's alive when I come back." Sasuke said as he disappeared into the night._

_Naruto watched his best friend disappear as he looked back at Sakura who was in his arms. _

"_I'll protect you no matter what" Naruto said. "Because that's my way of the ninja and I never go back on my word!"_

_A lone tear rolled down the corner of Sakura's left eye._

"_Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered._

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto walked entered Sakura's room the next morning after talking to Tsunade to inform her that Sasuke left last night with his group. Tsunade decided to come along and see if there were any damage to Sakura due to Sasuke's jutsu. Later on, she was going to train Sakura.

The two watched as green eyes slowly opened as Sakura quickly got up.

"Naruto-san" Sakura yawned. She soon noticed Tsunade staring at her as well.

"Good morning Shishou" Sakura said.

"How do you feel Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked worried.

"My head hurts a bit. But that's what happens some times when you get up to quickly" Sakura said as she smiled. "What are you doing here Shishou?"

"I came to train you today" Tsunade said. "I won't be doing anything hard today. Think of it as a warm up today. Why don't you eat first before we train?"

Sakura nodded as she walked herself down to the kitchen. Tsunade watched Sakura go as she sighed. "You guys removed everything that could remind her of Sasuke right?"

Naruto nodded. "From room to pictures. Kurenai-sensei put up a jutsu in Sasuke's room just in case"

"Good. If Sasuke's theory is right, this will slow down if not prevent Sakura's death from happening as it will give Sasuke and his team more time." Tsunade said. "Since it's your turn to take care of Sakura for the next two months, I'd have her move with you into your house, but from what I heard, you have a really messy apartment"

Naruto let out a nervous laugh. "Why don't Sakura and I move into her apartment? It's big enough for two people"

Tsunade put some thought into it. "I'd be okay with it as long as you take away anything that will remind her of Sasuke."

"Thanks Baa-chan. I'll have Kakashi-sensei and the others help me with that" Naruto said.

Tsunade nodded with approval. "Yosh! Make sure you get it done by the end of today. I'll be taking Sakura from you for the day so you don't have to worry about her"

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto and the gang stared at Sakura's apartment. Sai felt weird. The last time he came here was...before everything began to fall apart.

"Nobody has entered this house for four months" Ino said as she took a step forward and went up to Sakura's plant on the floor. Digging into the soil, she took out a key. Ino opened the door as she let everyone in.

"Okay, we're going to divide into teams." Ino said taking charge. "Search around the house and put everything you think will remind Sakura of Sasuke into these boxes. We'll all meet in Sakura's living room in half an hour. We will all go with our groups. My group will go into Sakura's room. Hinata, you're group will be looking in the living room. Tenten, you're checking the kitchen and dining room table. Naruto, your group can go anywhere you want since you guys been here a lot. You can help the others find things."

Everyone split up as Naruto started in the living room with Hinata's group. Of course, the first things he saw were the pictures on the wall. Pictures of the memories Sakura had forgotten.

The biggest picture on the wall was of a little girl. It was Sakura She was with two adults in the picture. There was a woman with red hair and blue eyes crouching down next to her. On the other side, there was a man with white hair and green eyes. Naruto almost laughed. Was this how Sakura gotten pink hair? He expected the mother to have the same hair color as Sakura. But he knew she got her beautiful green orbs from her father. Looking at the other pictures, some of them were her and her parents or just herself when she was little. The next pictures were of her and Ino when they were a bit older, probably 8 years old or something. There were pictures of Sakura and the girls during their hang outs. Temari was in some of the pictures as well. There were pictures of Sakura and the sand siblings when Sakura went to visit Suna. Naruto smiled. Each picture told a story.

Naruto's expression changed when he saw the Team 7 pictures without Sai and Captain Yamato. This was during the Hanabi festival back when they were genin.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered as he took it down. "Here Shino, put this in the box."

Naruto continued to take down pictures of the old Team 7. He soon stared at one picture. It was of her and Sasuke. He immediately took it down and put it in the box. "I got all the pictures down"

"I think that's all of it here" Hinata said. "Thanks Naruto-kun"

Naruto nodded as he went to the kitchen. Kakashi was there with Lee's team.

"Are you done here Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked. Kakashi nodded.

"We took out all of Sasuke's favorite foods and the plates, bowls, and cups he would always use when we come here for lunch or dinner" Kakashi said.

Naruto soon headed to Sakura's room. Ino was removing the first picture of Team 7.

"This picture always reminded her of Sasuke and Naruto when they left to train with Orochimaru and Jiraiya." Ino said as she handed it to Shikamaru. "It would always make her cry, realizing how alone she was and how her team couldn't go back to how it used to be"

Naruto knocked on the door to make himself noticed. "Hey. Sai and Captain Yamato isn't with you guys?"

Chouji shook his head. "They went to watched Sakura's training instead."

Naruto looked around as he saw a familiar purple teddy bear. He grabbed it and handed it over to Shikamaru. "Sasuke won this for her when we went to a festival"

Naruto and Ino sighed for the rest of the day as they removed everything that could trigger Sakura's memory.

"We're good to go" Neji said. "We're going to take these boxes to the Hokage"

"Thanks everyone" Naruto said.

Kiba smiled. "You're not the only one who cares about Sakura a lot. She's important to all of us too"

"Call us if you need any help" Tenten said.

"I'll drop off Sakura here later with Itachi. I asked him to pack all of Sakura's stuff back at the Uchiha compound" Kakashi said.

**XxXxXxX**

"What's this place Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked as he and Itachi led Sakura to her apartment.

"This is where you live" Kakashi said. Sakura had a confused look.

"Then whose house was I in this morning?" Sakura asked.

"That was my house" Itachi said. Kakashi was scared that Sakura would remember Sasuke by seeing or talking to Itachi.

"Oh" Sakura said as she smiled. "I slept over right?'

Itachi nodded. Kakashi opened Sakura's door as Sakura walked in. she paused while looking at everything. The boys watched her actions as she entered the living room. She was looking at the pictures on the wall. There were no pictures of Sasuke whatsoever.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he pulled her into a hug. Sakura giggled.

"Hello to you too Naruto-san" Sakura smiled.

"I'll take it from here" Naruto said as he took the bags from Itachi. Itachi and Kakashi nodded before leaving the house.

"Are you going to be staying with me, Naruto-san?" Sakura asked. Her cheeks were tinted with pink.

Naruto nodded. "You're my best friend Sakura-chan. I want to do whatever I can to help you"

"Thanks Naruto" Sakura said dropping the 'san'. "I hope I won't be a burden-"

Sakura's eyes darkened as Naruto looked at her worried. She seemed deep in thought.

**"_You're a burden to the team!"_**

Who said that to her?

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?" Naruto asked waving his hand in front of her.

Sakura shook her head as she smiled. "I'm fine. Did you eat anything Naruto?"

"Not yet. We'll go out to eat after we unpack your things in your room" Naruto said leading her to her room.

Sakura's eyes widened as she looked at the room. It seemed familiar yet it didn't. "This is my room?"

"Well, you haven't been here in four months, so you probably don't remember" Naruto said.

"Where was I in four month?" Sakura asked.

"You were at Ino's then Itachi's while…we reconstructed your house" Naruto said proudly of his lie.

"I'll unpack, later" Sakura said as she and Naruto left her apartment. "Let's go to Ichiraku. It's your favorite"

Naruto's eyes widened as did Sakura's. "How did I know that?" Sakura asked out loud.

"Don't worry about it Sakura-chan" Naruto said happily. "Let's go get some ramen!"

Sakura smiled as she held Naruto's hand.

The couple passed by the Yamanaka flower shop. Shikamaru was helping Ino out as he saw the couple walk by. He called Ino out as she saw the sight before them.

"Hopefully they'll tell each other how they feel" Shikamaru said smiling.

"With Valentine coming up, we can help" Ino said grinning at her boyfriend.

"How troublesome. Just let them find out by themselves" Shikamaru said.

Ino pouted. "Have you forgotten? Naruto is an idiot and Sakura doesn't really remember her love for Naruto. We have to help them!"

"Fine, you troublesome woman" Shikamaru said.

"Love you too" Ino said as she gave Shikamaru a peck on the lips.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Tsunade" A voice said. "It's a surprise you're not drinking"

"Haven't seen you in a while Jiraiya" Tsunade said.

"I was doing some research about the scroll Akatsuki stole from us. I found the hideout of where it is" Jiraiya said.

"It's dangerous. You don't even know what they're planning!" Tsunade said frowning.

"I'll be fine Tsunade. If I find out something. I'll tell you as soon as possible" Jiraiya said.

"Fine. You better come back" Tsunade said.

Jiraiya smirked. "Just bet that I won't make it back. That bad luck of yours is good for something. Tell Naruto that I'll be training him when I get back"

"Take care and don't do anything rash unless you have t-" Tsunade was cut off as Jiraiya brought his face close to hers and kissed her.

"You worry too much Tsunade." Jiraiya said. Tsunade was still in shock as her face turned red. Jiraiya didn't know if it was due to her embarrassment or anger. With a wink, Jiraiya left the village.

"That Jiraiya" Tsunade said slowly smiling as she touched her lips.

**XxXxXxX**

Jiraiya ran to the cavern where he saw the guy with the scroll enter to. Sneaking in, he saw the guy standing as he pulled out the revival scroll. Looking around, he frowned. Why did this place look familiar?

'What is he planning to do?' Jiraiya wondered. He had to get closer. Getting as close as he could, his eyes widened when he identified the man as Kabuto, Orochimaru's follower.

Kabuto had smeared his blood on the retrieval scroll as he did hand signs. Soon a spirit formed in front of Kabuto. A woman with long white hair and purple eyes came into view.

"Kameko-sama" Kabuto said as he bowed down to her.

Kameko! Jiraiya's mouth dropped. She was one of the strongest Kunoichi. Her powers rivaled that of Tsunade. But she wanted to take over the whole world. Tsunade with the help of Sakura's great aunt, Kiyoko, stripped most of her powers away from her and destroyed her body. Her soul however was still strong as it tried to fight Tsunade. Sakura's great aunt had to trap her in a mirror. But that was 40 years ago, when they were in their 20's.

"Who dares awaken me from my spell" Kameko demanded. Kabuto held his cool façade.

"Kabuto, my Queen" Kabuto said. "I'm here to help you out of that mirror. In return, you must make my wish come true"

"Interesting offer, Kabuto-san. But you must prove your loyalty killing our unwanted guest. Come on over Jiraiya-kun"

"You're trying to revive Kameko?!" Jiraiya shouted at Kabuto.

Kameko smirked. "Kabuto, release me from my holds. I want to exercise my powers"

"As you wish" Kabuto said as he released Kameko.

"I was defeated by that teammate of yours, Tsunade…" Kameko said with hatred. "But I'll make sure that this time, I will not be defeated."

Jiraiya watched as Kameko raised her hand parallel to her body and froze. A fire ball began to head towards him.

"Interesting" Kameko said bitterly. "I only have ¼ of my powers"

Jiraiya smirked. "Tsunade and Kiyoko stripped most of your powers before they killed you" He jumped in the air to avoid it.

"Hm. Lovely" Kameko hissed. "Seems I have to do some searching"

"Like I'll step aside and let you find the objects" Jiraiya said.

"Where's the Haruno Priestess that sealed up my powers?" Kameko asked as she punched and kicked at Jiraiya. Jiraiya blocked them with his own attacks.

"Dead" Jiraiya said as he kicked her in the stomach.

Kameko fell on her knees. "What a pity" She said as slowly got up. "And I was hoping to have another rematch with her"

Jiraiya waited as Kameko charged at him. Activating the Five Elements Unseal, he hit Kameko full in the stomach as she gasped.

"What did you do?" Kameko asked as she tried to counterattack it. Intead of having her powers seal, they all turned into five different orbs.

"I removed all your powers and sending you back to the mirror." Jiraiya explained.

"At least tell me where Kiyoko hid the rest of my powers went before I die" Kameko pleaded as she was sent into the mirror. Five orbs of light formed in front of the mirror as it flew out of the cave.

"Each power is sealed into an object. Your element of water is sealed into the hero water in the Hidden Village of the Waterfalls. The element of wind has been sealed up in an object in the Wind country. Even I don't know where. The last three are protected deep inside Konoha. The fire element is hidden within the Kyuubi. For the last two elements, you can never get it since Kiyoko Haruno is deceased. Her bloodline, Angel's tears…no other family member besides her has it! You'll never get your full powers now."

"Damn you!" Kameko said as Kabuto snuck behind Jiraiya and pierced his chest with his hand.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he quickly summoned a frog and wrote a code on it.

"Jiraiya-sama!" The frog cried. Jiraiya had fallen into the water. He stared up at the cave's ceiling.

"G-Go…and hurry" Jiraiya said. "Tell Tsunade that she actually won a bet" He said with a smile as he closed his eyes for the final time. Slowly his body sank into the water.

"Kabuto" Kameko called out from the mirror. "Awaken me in five years. I must regain my strength and think of a plan to gain all my powers. The powers I had before are sent to five different people. It wil be easy for me to locate it then. They will host it until I am able to regain them again."

"Are you sure?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes. But if you ever betray me, I will find a way to kill you" Kameko said as her image in the mirror disappeared. Kabuto sighed as he gently wrapped up the mirror and placed it in his backpack.

**XxXxXxX**

Gaara was eating lunch at their hotel in Konoha as Temari was doing the dishes. Gaara jumped when he heard the sound of dishes breaking.

"Temari?!" Gaara called out. A yellow orb hovered above her. The kanji for wind was on it as it slowly entered Temari. She soon fell towards the floor as Gaara caught her.

"Hey, Temari, wake up!" Gaara said shaking his sister. Temari took large gasp of air before falling unconscious.

"Damn it!" Gaara said. "I have to take her to the hospital"

**XxXxXxX**

Hinata and Neji were training with his team as a blue and red orb flew towards Hinata and Tenten.

"What the hell?" Neji said as Hinata's eyes darkened. The kanji for water was on it as it entered Hinata. She coughed out water as she fell to the ground.

"Hinata-sama!" Neji said scared. Hinata didn't respond at all. Lee had caught his girlfriend as Tenten screamed in pain. Her skin felt hot as a red orb with the kanji for fire entered her.

"Neji-kun, what's going on?" Lee said scared.

"We have to take them to the hospital immediately!" Neji said. "Tsunade can help them. Let's go!"

**XxXxXxX**

Shikamaru and Ino were walking around town as Shikamaru was talking about something that happened with Chouji. He noticed that Ino wasn't walking next to him anymore.

"Ino?" Shikamaru looked back to see Ino was in some sort of trance. A brown orb appeared in front of her. Ino slowly began to reach out of it as she read the kanji on it.

"Earth…" She said as her fingers touch it.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Ino, don't touch it!"

But she did. The orb entered her body as she flew a couple feet away from Shikamaru. He immediately ran to her as he tried to get her to wake up.

"Troublesome Ino!" Shikamaru said as he carried her bridal style towards the hospital.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto was watching as Sakura was slowly spinning around. The two had finished lunch as they decided to visit Gaara and Temari at their apartment.

"I haven't see Gaara in a while" Sakura grinned.

"He missed you" Naruto smiled. He soon looked as Sakura had stopped moving as she was looking at a white orb in front of her. It had hints of pink.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said as he saw Sakura's hand reaching out for it.

"Sakura-chan, don't touch it!" Naruto shouted as he tried to grab Sakura before it was too late and it was. Sakura had touched it as her eyes widened.

"Heaven…" She spoke as she fell to the ground. A few minutes later, Sakura woke up.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura said as Naruto helped her up.

"Are you okay?" Naruto said.

"I feel…weird." Sakura whispered.

Naruto frowned. "We have to take you to Baa-chan"

As the two reached the hospital, Naruto was surprised to see Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, and Gaara there in the waiting room.

"What are you guys doing here?" Naruto asked.

"The girls" Neji said. "Some weird orb appeared before them as they've been unconscious ever since"

"Orb…was there a kanji on it?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah" Shikamaru said. "There was"

"The same thing happened to Sakura, but she's fine" Naruto said. Sakura smiled at the boys to emphasis his words.

"What is the meaning of this!" Tsunade shouted. Everyone jumped at the Hokage's booming voice. Shizune was crying as she was handing Tsunade one of Jiraiya's frogs. Naruto looked down the hall to see Tsunade on her knees as Shizune was trying to comfort her.

"No!" Tsunade cried. "NO! He can't die!"

"I'm afraid he is dead" the frog spoke. "He was killed in action. I'm sorry"

"He left a code on me, but even I can't translate it" The frog spoke.

"Shishou?" Sakura said as she went up to her.

"He's gone…" Tsunade whispered but her and Naruto could hear her.

"Who's gone?" Naruto asked.

"Jiraiya…" Tsunade cried. Naruto's eyes widened as he ran away.

"I'm sorry. I need some time alone" Tsunade said as she took the frog and ran to her office.

Shizune wiped her tears. "I have to go check on Ino and the girls"

"Ino?" Sakura said. "What's wrong with her?"

"From what I was told, a weird object appeared in front of them and caused them to fall unconscious" Shizune explained.

"Can I help?" Sakura said.

"Sakura, you know your condition." Shizune said.

Sakura frowned. "At least let me try"

Shizune stared at Sakura before sighing. "Fine, but if you feel any pain at all, you are to stop immediately!"

Sakura nodded as a nurse led Sakura to where Ino and the girls were.

"Ino! Hinata! Tenten! Temari!" Sakura cried. The moment Sakura stepped into the room, a large force of energy sent Shizune and the nurse flying out of the room. Hearing the screams, Neji and the others ran to where Sakura was. They were surprised at what they saw.

The girls were glowing as they were levitating in the air. The orbs had flown out of the girls as changed into one. Slowly it all went back to Sakura. Sakura's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she was shaking. Soon she fell towards the floor. Neji moved quickly to catch her as his cousin and the others slowly went back on their bed. They all quickly opened their eyes.

"Ino!" Shikamaru said as he went to his girlfriend.

"S-Shika…" Ino didn't finish as she just rested her head on him.

"Tenten!" Lee said as he saw Tenten looking around confused.

"Temari, are you alright?" Gaara asked. Temari nodded.

Hinata got up as she saw Sakura on the floor with Neji.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata said as she ran to her friend. Sakura slowly opened her eyes as the Hyuuga cousins stared at Sakura with shock. Instead of her usual green eyes, her eyes were turning different colors: red, blue, yellow, brown, pinkish white, then back to her normal green ones.

A face appeared in Sakura's head. A woman with long white hair and purple eyes. Sakura clutched her head as she closed her eyes.

Who was she?

**-**

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**The story seems to have taken in a new twist! Do I sense a new enemy? It seems like Kameko has some history with Tsunade and Sakura's great aunt Kiyoko. Remember what Madara said before he died. He's not the only one going after Sakura's bloodline. He was speaking about Kameko. Interesting huh? I'm sorry about killing off Jiraiya, but I wanted Naruto to have a reason to go after Kameko later on. Anyways Review everyone.**

**-Kumiko**


	29. Chapter 29

**Hey everyone. It's like late at night, and I wanted to update this story for everyone. Haven't updated in a while. I'm dead tired now, well enjoy this chapter.**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

_The girls were glowing as they were levitating in the air. The orbs had flown out of the girls as changed into one. Slowly it all went back to Sakura. Sakura's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she was shaking. Soon she fell towards the floor. Neji moved quickly to catch her as his cousin and the others slowly went back on their bed. They all quickly opened their eyes._

"_Ino!" Shikamaru said as he went to his girlfriend._

"_S-Shika…" Ino didn't finish as she just rested her head on him._

"_Tenten!" Lee said as he saw Tenten looking around confused._

"_Temari, are you alright?" Gaara asked. Temari nodded._

_Hinata got up as she saw Sakura on the floor with Neji._

"_Sakura-chan!" Hinata said as she ran to her friend. Sakura slowly opened her eyes as the Hyuuga cousins stared at Sakura with shock. Instead of her usual green eyes, her eyes were turning different colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, Brown, Pinkish White, then back to her normal green ones._

_A face appeared in Sakura's head. A woman with long white hair and purple eyes._

_Who was she?_

**XxXxXxX**

"You sure you're okay?" Neji asked as they were all at Sakura's house.

"For the 100th time, I'm fine Neji" Sakura said as she patted his arm.

"I heard that Jiraiya died…" Gaara said sadly.

Sakura nodded. "That is why Naruto isn't here" Shikamaru noticed how Sakura had a sad look on her face. "Shishou is locked away in her office as well"

"For the time being, we'll stay with you!" Hinata offered. "My team will take care of you until Naruto-kun is…"

"Until he feels better" Kiba's voice entered the room as he and Shino made their way inside the house.

"Kiba-kun" Hinata said. "Shino-kun"

Kiba smiled as he gave Hinata a kiss on the lips as Shino patted her head.

"I heard from Shizune what happened to you girls" Kiba said.

"We don't mind staying with you for a while Sakura-san" Shino said. Sakura smiled.

"Thank you everyone. I don't deserve all this" Sakura said.

Kiba smirked as he put an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "Of course you do. You saved our asses a million times. You always put others before yourself without expecting anything else"

"You risked your life to save my uncle. You almost died from charka depletion" Neji frowned.

"Let us take care of you Sakura" Tenten smiled.

"Alright" Sakura said as she gave in.

"It's Sunday. We'll give Naruto a week to get over the death of Jiraiya" Shino said.

Shikamaru shook his head. "I know what it's like to lose a sensei" Ino and Chouji had a sad expression.

"Asuma-sensei" Sakura whispered.

"It takes a long time to get over someone really close to you. Jiraiya was like Naruto's god father. He was a connection to his father. He helped raised him. It take a bit longer than that to get over it" Shikamaru said.

"We can take turns taking care of Sakura. Since Ino's team already took care of her, it's our turn.

"Hinata get's Monday and Tuesday. Temari and Gaara gets Wednesday and Thursday since they're leaving on Friday. Then my team gets Friday and Saturday. We can probably get Shizune to watch over Sakura on Sunday, while we check up on Naruto" Tenten said.

"Sounds good to me." Chouji said.

"I'll be staying with Sakura-chan tonight" Hinata asked her cousin as Neji nodded.

"Do you need me to bring your things?" Neji asked. Hinata shook her head.

"It's not necessary. I have my extra clothes here in Sakura's closet." Hinata said.

'I'll tell Uncle" Neji said as bid good bye to his cousin and Sakura before leaving. Soon others did the same thing. Kiba and Shino left to gather their things and tell their parents.

When Hinata turned to look at Sakura, she found her clutching her lower stomach.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay?" Hinata asked.

"It hurts" Sakura said as she took a deep breath. "My period started"

Hinata's eyes widened. "Take a shower! I'll bring you some clothes and a pad"

Sakura thanked her as she did just as she was told. Hinata frowned. She wondered how Sasuke dealt with Sakura's period. Well, Karin was there and Ino helped out most of the time.

After a couple minutes, Hinata heard Sakura come out of the bathroom.

"Thanks Hinata-chan" Sakura smiled. The two decided to go to Sakura's room to relax and talk.

Hinata watched carefully as Sakura looked around her room. She began to touch her shelves as if expecting something to be there. Ino had done her job well.

Sakura went to her bed as she looked at the side table next to her. There were three picture frames there. One was of the rookie nine plus Gai's team, minusing Sai, Sasuke, and Naruto. It was taking after Sasuke left the village and Naruto left to train.

The next picture was of the new Team Seven without Sasuke. Hinata watched as Sakura noticed one picture was face down. Hinata bit her lower lip as Sakura lifted it back up to see that there was a picture of her and the sand siblings. Hinata let out a breath of relief.

"Are you okay?" Hinata began to ask.

Sakura seemed to jump at her question as Sakura awkwardly laughed.

"It's nothing" Sakura said as she shook her head. She raised her right hand over her heart. "I don't know, but I feel like something is missing. What am I saying? Sorry if I'm sounding weird"

Hinata frowned. She didn't like lying to her friends, especially to Sakura. But she had to.

"What happened earlier was pretty weird, don't you think?" Sakura asked. "You know with the orbs thing and Jiraiya-sama…" Sakura's eyes darkened as she thought about Naruto and Tsunade.

"Just give them a couple days. The two of them were really close to him" Hinata said as she patted Sakura's hand. "Are you okay after the event? Neji-niisan said everything went to you"

"I'm fine" Sakura said. "I feel the same as usual"

"Well, we'll have Tsunade check over you when she's better" Hinata said with a smile. The bell rang downstairs as Sakura went to answer it. It was Kiba and Shino.

"Hello" Sakura greeted.

Shino nodded his head at her as Kiba patted her head. Hinata would help Sakura with her girl stuff. Shino would always escort Sakura around when she went out. Kiba and Akamaru would help clean around the house.

And that was how it was for the week. After two days, Hinata's team had to leave as Gaara and his team came for their shift. Sakura would help Temari be a better cook, grateful to Kankuro and Gaara. Kankuro would show Sakura a few tricks with his puppets. Gaara would always just be around her to protect her.

Soon, Tenten's team came and did their job.

It was morning as Sakura woke up from her sleep. Tenten was next to her on her bed as the guys had the extra room. Sakura looked at her side table and stared at the picture of her and Team Seven. Her gaze fell upon Naruto.

"I wonder how you're doing Naruto…." Sakura said as she sighed.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Naruto frowned when he heard knocking on his door. Honestly, he didn't give a damn if it was Sakura at the door right now. He was too depressed to open the door.

"Oi, Naruto! Open the door" the person said. Naruto sighed. It was Shikamaru.

Shikamaru watched as the door slowly opened. He took notice of Naruto. Eyes were red and puffy from crying. Everything about him screamed depressed. It was scary to see this side of Naruto. Shikamaru frowned. If this is what Naruto was when Jiraiya died, he's afraid to see what he'd look like if Sakura died.

"Hey" Shikamaru said.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked in a monotone voice.

"Can I come in?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto sighed as he widened the door so Shikamaru can enter. Shikamaru sighed. He had to get Naruto to decode what Jiraiya had sent before he died. He already asked Tsunade and Kakashi but got nothing. His only and last choice was Naruto. Naruto sat on his bed as Shikamaru sat on the floor. Naruto stared at the picture of the frog with numbers on its stomach.

"What do you think?" Shikamaru asked. "Does it ring any bells?"

Naruto was still silent as he seemed to be lost in thought.

"Hey, Naruto, what do you think?" Shikamaru asked again.

That seemed to break Naruto out of his thoughts as he looked at Shikamaru.

"Oh! Sorry! Sorry! So, what were you saying?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru frowned as he stood up. "Come with me"

"Where?" Naruto asked.

"Just come on!" Shikamaru asked as the two walked out of the apartment. Shikamaru had led Naruto to an apartment as he rang the bell. Naruto watched as it was Kurenai who opened the door.

"Shikamaru! Naruto!" Kurenai said. Naruto noticed the baby in her arms. "Let me serve you some drinks. Shikamaru, can you hold Kuukai for me?"

Naruto watched as she left to the kitchen. He soon turned his attention to Kuukai. Kuukai was smiling at Naruto as his red eyes looked at him.

"This kid will be my apprentice" Shikamaru said as he closed his eyes. Naruto turned his attention back up to Shikamaru. "Asuma entrusted me with it. I heard about Jiraiya"

Naruto frowned. He really didn't want to talk about it.

"I lost my master too. So don't think I don't know what you're going through" Shikamaru said as he placed Kuukai in his crib that was in the living room. "You'll never get anywhere if you keep dicking around." Naruto glared at Shikamaru but let him continue to talk.

"You're not in a position to do that anymore" He said as he put his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"My master entrusted me with a lot, from small to big things. It's the same for you…an unlimited number of things. Don't you think it's about time for us?" Shikamaru walked up to the shelves in the room.

"Time for what?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru was staring at the group pictures of Team 8 and Team 10 back in the genin days. He soon turned his head to look at Naruto behind him.

"To be the ones who entrust, not the entrusted. It's a pain in the ass, but I can't say that. Someday you'll be the one to treat others to ramen. And you'll be called Naruto-sensei. We can't stay kids forever. Like Asuma and Jiraiya, I want to be as cool as them." He finished saying with a wink.

Kurenai stopped herself from entering the living room as she wiped some of her tears away. These kids were really something. Calming herself down, she began to walk into the room.

Naruto soon smiled. "You're right Shikamaru"

"Of course I am. Now, you need to get a hold of yourself or else you're going to make Sakura worry about you more!" Shikamaru said.

"The tea is ready" Kurenai announced as she put it on the table.

The three drank and talked as they left half an hour later as they headed towards the research building to decipher the code. The researcher Shiho came to assist the two.

"Can you get anything?" Shiho asked.

"Naruto, you've been quiet for a while" Shikamaru said.

"If anything caught your eye, please tell us no matter how small! Anything could help!" Shiho said.

Naruto crossed his arms as he sighed. "…Well, it's been bugging me ever since I laid my eyes on it"

"What has?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well…how come the rest is all numbers and there's only one katakana?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru and Shiho's eyes widened in surprised.

"Huh?" Shikamaru said.

"Katakana?" Shiho repeated.

"Where?" Shikamaru asked as he looked at the picture on the table again.

"Look, right here" Naruto said pointing to the first character.

"That's a nine, isn't it?" Shikamaru asked.

"I thought so too, but it isn't a nine. It's a katakana "Ta"." Naruto said.

"Hm. Now that you mentioned it. It does look like it" Shikamaru said.

"Uzumaki. Why do you think it's a 'Ta' and not a nine?" Shiho asked.

"Well…that pervy sage was always writing books. He's a writer after all. And while we were traveling together, he'd always make me read his handwritten manuscripts. He always wanted to know my opinion. It was all boring, though…" Naruto paused for a bit. "His 'Ta's' were always hard to read. They kinda looked like nine's to me"

"A particular writing, huh?" Shiho thought out loud. "The key is Naruto's connection to Jiraiya. There has to be hints in his books! The numbers must be character order or number of lines…or some page number. This key must be connected to the code somehow!"

"Naruto, do you know any of his books that could be connect to 'Ta'?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's probably this one" Kakashi said as he was standing near the window from outside.

The three looked at the green book Kakashi was holding. The title was called "ICHA-ICHA TACTICS"

"Icha-Icha Tactics" Shikamaru said as he smiled. "Ta"

"Kakashi…" Naruto said.

"I was wonder how you guys were doing on the research and I heard your voices when I came over. I heard most of it."

"That's the book he wrote when we were traveling together." Naruto exclaimed.

"This is something no one but you could have known, Naruto. Jiraiya left this code for you" Shikamaru smiled. Naruto looked back at Shikamaru and smiled as well.

"The 'Ta' at the beginning of the code was referring to the tactics volume of the series." Kakashi said looking at his book.

"Well the rest of the numbers must be page numbers!" Shiho said. "Hatake, can you please go and read the first sentence of each page?"

Kakashi sweat dropped as he blushed. He began to write down what was on each page. Kakashi had never felt so embarrassed. Shikamaru made a face as he read each sentences.

"Okay, that's all six pages" Shiho said.

"What've you got?" Naruto asked.

Shiho circled the first character of each line. "If I read the first character of each line…I get "Priestess of the elements still exists"

Everyone was silence as they thought about it.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

"I don't have a clue. But maybe the Hokage has a clue" Kakashi suggested.

Shikamaru nodded. "I'll give this to her immediately"

"May I go with you?" Shiho asked as she blushed.

"Eh? Uh, sure" Shikamaru said as he left with Shiho following after him.

Naruto snickered. "Ino will be really jealous when she finds out"

"Shouldn't you be going back to take care of Sakura? You left her alone for a week in the house" Kakashi asked.

Naruto's eyes widened. He was so depressed about Jiraiya, he had forgotten about Sakura.

"Oh man! I'll see you later Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said as he jumped out of the window and over him.

**XxXxXxX**

Naruto ran to Sakura's house as he opened it with his spare key.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called out. It was late in the afternoon as the sun was setting. Did Sakura eat already? Was she okay?

"Naruto!" Sakura said as she ran to him and hugged him. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt weird. This was the first hug he had ever received from Sakura. He felt his cheeks warm up.

"So you finally showed" Naruto heard Neji's voice from the living room. He smelt something cooking in the kitchen to see Lee and Tenten preparing dinner.

"You guys were watching Sakura-chan the whole week?" Naruto asked.

Sakura shook her head. "Hinata-chan's team and Temari and her brothers took care of me for the last four days. Today is Neji's shift." Sakura smiled.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan" Naruto said as he fell to his knees. Sakura kneeled down with him as she touched his cheek.

"It's okay Naruto" Sakura smiled. "Come on, Tenten-chan and Lee-san prepared dinner!" She helped him up and led him to the dining room.

Neji watched from the back as the couple walked in front of him. He sighed. When will those two get the happy ending they deserve?

**XxXxXxX**

Shikamaru and Shiho stood in front of Tsunade's door. Shikamaru knocked on it a few times.

"Who is it?" Tsunade's drunken voice asked.

"It's Shikamaru" he said.

"And Shiho" Shiho voiced.

Tsunade didn't say anything at first while the two could hear things moving in the room.

"I'll open the door for you" Shizune said as she appeared behind the two. With her spare key, she unlocked the door.

Shikamaru looked around the office to see papers stacked together neatly in one side of the office as more paper was scattered all over the desk. Empty bottles of sake were all over the floor.

"Tsunade-sama! How many did you drink?" Shizune asked worried. "You have to snap out of this"

"I don't care about anything anymore" Tsunade said as she rested her head on the desk.

"So you don't care if Sakura-chan needs you to be there for her?" Shizune asked raising her voice.

Tsunade lifted her head up a bit to see her eyes were red and puffy. Shikamaru frowned. She was as bad as Naruto.

"Why are you here Nara?" Tsunade asked.

Shiho fixed her glasses as she handed Tsunade the paper with the code. "We figured out the code Jiraiya sent us"

Shizune's eyes widened as she looked over Shiho's shoulders. She read the code out loud.

"Priestess of the elements still exists" Shizune read. Tsunade's hazel eyes widened.

"Did you say priestess of the elements?" Tsunade asked.

Shikamaru and Shiho nodded.

"Yes Hokage-sama" Shiho said with a nod. "Do you know something about it?"

"Kameko" Tsunade growled. Her cheeks were still tinted red but she wasn't as drunk anymore.

"Who's Kameko?" Shikamaru asked.

Tsunade sighed as she brushed back some of her bangs. This was going to be a long story.

**-**

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**Next chapter everyone will find out the history Tsunade has with Kameko. There isn't really anything for me to say right now. It's 11:06pm, and I'm dead tired. Well review everyone and wait for my next update.**

**-Kumiko**


	30. Chapter 30

**Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated in a while. But I've been very busy at school and been having a writer's block, so I had to cut this chapter shorter than usual. But I already finished my college application! I've only applied to San Jose State University for Nursing as my major. I can't see myself anywhere else, and it's closest to my home. Well, I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. Thank you for waiting.**

**Last Time on Gomenasai…**

"_Why are you here Nara?" Tsunade asked._

_Shiho fixed her glasses as she handed Tsunade the paper with the code. "We figured out the code Jiraiya sent us"_

_Shizune's eyes widened as she looked over Shiho's shoulders. She read the code out loud._

"_Power of the elements still exists" Shizune read. Tsunade's hazel eyes widened._

"_Did you say power of the elements?" Tsunade asked._

_Shikamaru and Shiho nodded._

"_Yes Hokage-sama" Shiho said with a nod. "Do you know something about it?"_

"_Kameko" Tsunade growled. Her cheeks were still tinted red but she wasn't as drunk anymore. _

"_Who's Kameko?" Shikamaru asked._

_Tsunade sighed as she brushed back some of her bangs. This was going to be a long story._

**XxXxXxX**

**(A/N: Tsunade will be talking in bold.)**

**We were in the final rounds of the Jounin exams. Jiraiya and Orochimaru had finished their battles as it was my turn to battle my opponent.**

"For our last battle of the Jounin exams, from Konoha, Tsunade Senju!" said the Jounin Examiner.

"Go Tsunade!" Jiraiya cheered from the above.

"Her opponent will be Kameko Sakamoto from Mist"

Tsunade watched as a woman appear in front of her. Traces of flames surrounded her as it died out. She had long white hair that was up in a bun. Her violet eyes stared stoically at Tsunade.

**At first I thought she was a fire-element Kunoichi as she appeared from flames. But I was wrong.**

"You guys can start" The Jounin Examiner said as he walked away and let the girls battle.

"So you're Tsunade, the Sannin" Kameko said.

"Yes, I am" Tsunade said as she got into battle pose.

"Let's see if you really deserve that title" Kameko said as she vanished from a blink of an eye.

Tsunade crossed her arms in front of her as Kameko kicked her with flames at the end of her foot.

Tsunade flew a few feet as she rolled to the ground. Tsunade looked at her arm. The burn wasn't that bad. She could heal it later on. Tsunade could tell that Kameko was thinking low of her. She frowned.

"Don't underestimate me" Tsunade growled as Kameko's eyes widened. She didn't even feel Tsunade behind her. With the back of her hand, Tsunade sent Kameko flying. Tsunade charged at her as she formed chakra in her fist and aimed at her. Before she could hit Kameko, she felt a gust of wind as she flew in the air.

Kameko rose from the ground as she was moving the gust of wind with her hand.

**Not only was she capable of controlling fire, she could control wind with her hands. I began to wonder if she could control other elements as well.**

Tsunade felt the wind leave her alone as rocks came and held her in place.

"Damn it!" Tsunade said as the rocks held her tightly in the air.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya called out for her.

"Tsunade can do better than this" Orochimaru muttered as he watched with anxiety as well. He was somewhat worried about his teammate. The powers of Kameko were intriguing to him though. He wanted it.

Kameko smirked as she formed water and soaked the rocks. Tsunade looked like she was stuck on the top of a volcano.

"Let's see the volcano erupt shall we?" Kameko asked as she sent fire inside the volcano like structure. Tsunade felt the heat from below.

"That title will become mine" Kameko said. "I will be able to defeat the Sannin!"

"You can control elements?" Tsunade asked.

Kameko smiled as the volcano erupted. Everyone was surprised though when it ended up being a clone.

"What?" Kameko said surprised.

Tsunade appeared in front of her shocked opponent as she tapped her chest. Kameko began to feel weak as if her charka was depleting.

"What did you do to me?" Kameko asked.

"I closed your charka. You can't use it for a while. Now this battle is over" Tsunade said as she punched Kameko in the face. Everyone was quiet as they heard the sounds of Kameko's jaw breaking.

The Jounin examiner came out and declared Tsunade the winner.

**After that, my team and I became Jounin as the exam was over. During my Jounin time, I met Kiyoko Haruno. She was from the Snow Country and came here in orders of the Third Hokage. A few years later, we found out disturbing news.**

"Tsunade, Jiraiya, Orochimaru" The third greeted. "I need you three to go on a very important mission. I hope you guys remember Kameko Sakamoto from the Jounin exams"

"The one Tsunade fought?" Jiraiya asked.

"The one who could control the elements, right?" Orochimaru asked.

The third Hokage nodded his head. "Yes. She's been stealing spiritual powers from monks all over the countries. She's becoming a big threat. You three must stop her."

"What if we can't?" Tsunade asked.

"Then all hope is lost and Konoha and the other ninja countries will be destroyed. But you're number one goal is to protect Kiyoko. She has a special bloodline called Angel's tears. If used for the wrong purposes, the consequences are so bad I can't even say it. Jiraiya, I need you to bring her to the fire temple."

The three nodded and waited as Kiyoko entered the room.

"Hello everyone" Kiyoko said as she bowed. "Hokage-sama, please allow me to help stop Kameko. I can seal her powers, but I need the strongest monk of each temple. One from the Fire Country, Wind Country, Water Country, Lighting Country, and Earth Country."

"Tsunade, Orochimaru that will be your mission"

**It took us almost the entire week for Orochimaru and me to gather all the monks. We went to the fire country where I could hear the sound of destruction. The fire temple was on fire. I could tell it was from Kameko. Orochimaru led the monks to where Kiyoko was as I tried to find Kameko. She was fighting Jiraiya.**

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade called out as she ran into the battle.

"Tsunade" Kameko smirked as she dodged all the punches Tsunade was throwing at her.

"Why are you doing this?" Tsunade asked.

"I want the Angel's tears. If used properly, it can save 1,000 lives at a time or do the exact opposite." Kameko said with an evil grin.

"The power of the elements doesn't satisfy you?" Tsunade asked. Kameko ignored Tsunade's question.

"In this battle, it will be I who will be victorious!" Kameko said as her eyes widened. Her eyes turned into five different colors. Slowly she began to split into six.

"NOW!" A voice screamed.

Kameko and her clones couldn't move as the five clones turned into different colored orbs. The real Kameko was bonded by a jutsu that Orochimaru made. Kiyoko came with the five monks behind her with objects. There was a fan, a bottle of water, and a scroll. 

**With Kameko bonded, I took the chance to kill her off. She surprised us though as her soul was still alive. **

"I will win!" Kameko's soul screeched as she aimed towards Tsunade.

**Before Kameko could hurt me, a mirror had formed in front of her.**

"Chi, ki, ra, bai, sou" Kiyoko chanted over and over.

**Kameko was sealed into the mirror as the wind element was sealed into the fan. The water element was sealed into the bottle of water and the fire element was sealed inside a Konoha scroll. The last two elements, earth and heaven was sealed inside Kiyoko. **

"Take those objects and hide it from the world!" Kiyoko said a she fell to her knees. "I was only able to suck 98 percent of her powers. She has some of her powers with her, but it's not enough for her to break through my seal"

"I will get out of this mirror and I will get my revenge! I will take over the world!" Kameko screamed as the mirror shook. "I will become the most powerful and feared ninja! Watch me! I will kill you! I WILL KILL YOU!"

**XxXxXxX**

"The mirror went black as Kiyoko put one more seal on the mirror and hid it in a cave. There were no more disturbances after that except that Orochimaru betrayed and left the village. Kiyoko died with last two elements. Her sister, Sakura's grandma from the Christmas Party, was the only Haruno to not have the Bloodline at that time. After Kiyoko died from illness, the bloodline didn't show up in the next generation. Everyone believed it was lost. But the bloodline showed up in Sakura. No doubt that Kameko is trying to get that power once again." Tsunade said. Her drunken state had finally worn off.

"But she won't succeed because Kiyoko died with the earth element." Shikamaru assayed.

"Yes, that's our chance of winning. She doesn't know where to find the other elements as well" Tsunade smiled.

"She won't be a threat" Shizune said as she clung on to Ton-Ton.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto yawned as he woke up from his sleep. He heard the sound of piano playing in the living room.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called out. Sakura didn't answer as she was busy playing the piano in the living room. Naruto leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to listen to her play.

After a few minutes, she had finished her piece as she finally noticed Naruto in the room.

"Oh, were you listening Naruto?" Sakura asked as she got up from the piano and walked up to him.

"Yeah. You're really good" Naruto complimented her. "Did you eat lunch yet?" He asked noticing it was 12. He slept in.

"Not yet" Sakura said as she shook her head.

"Let's eat out then. My treat!" Naruto grinned.

"Let me guess…ramen?" Sakura teased.

"You know me so well!" Naruto said. Sakura giggled.

"Okay, let's go!" Naruto went out to the front as Sakura went to get her bag from her room. Looking at her calendar, it was a week before Valentine's Day. She smiled. She wanted to do something special for Naruto. Maybe Ino could help her.

After their lunch, the two decided to take a walk around Konoha. They passed by the school as they saw Iruka with the kids.

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out as he waved his hand. Sakura shyly smiled behind Naruto as she held his hand.

"Naruto-kun! Sakura-chan" Iruka greeted.

"Sakura-oneechan!" Some of the kids called out as they surrounded her. Their faces were familiar but Sakura still didn't remember their names.

"How are you Sakura-chan?" Iruka asked.

"I'm fine" Sakura answered with a smile. "Naruto and I are just walking around"

To other people, it would look like nothing was wrong, but he knew better. She still hasn't gotten her entire memories yet.

"Well, come and visit us again." Iruka said as he ruffled Sakura's head as she laughed. He patted Naruto on the shoulder as he smiled. "Don't give up" He whispered.

Naruto nodded as the two continued their walk.

"Naruto-niisan!" Sakura saw Konohamaru running up to them with his friends.

"Sakura-oneechan!" Moegi called out as she wrapped her hands around Sakura's waist and held her tight.

"Moegi-chan. Konohamaru-kun. Udon-kun" Sakura greeted.

Konohamaru gave Sakura a weird look.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Iruka-sensei said that Sakura lost her memories since Sa-"Naruto immediately covered Konohamaru's mouth.

"Don't mention his name around her, do you understand me? She must never remember him!" Naruto whispered.

Konohamaru smirked. "Ah, I see what's going on!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You want Sakura-neechan to fall in love with you, so you don't want her to remember your competition! That's it huh! You play dirty Naruto-niisan!"

Naruto felt his cheeks heat up as he noticed Sakura was looking at him. He let out a nervous laugh as she pulled Konohamaru into a headlock. "Kids say the darndest things huh?"

"Let's continue our walk, Naruto" Sakura smiled as she said goodbye to Moegi's group.

Naruto and Sakura began to walk as he felt something warm wrap around his right hand. Looking down, it was Sakura's hand laced with his. He hoped Sasuke came back quickly with that cure.

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**This is what I can write with the time I have. I really wanted to update for everyone, but senior year is taking most of my time. Anyways, I hoped you guys liked this chapter. It's kind of obvious that it's going to be about Sasuke's adventure next chapter. Now you know the history about Tsunade and Kameko. Sakura's grandma didn't show up randomly during that Christmas chapter haha. Well review everyone.**

**-Kumiko**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hey everyone, I know it's been a while since I've updated this story. Just so busy and deciding whether to continue this story. I feel like not that much people are interested in this story. (Sad face) Should I stop this story? You guys tell me…anyways, let's get on with the story.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Iruka-sensei said that Sakura lost her memories since Sa-"Naruto immediately covered Konohamaru's mouth._

"_Don't mention his name around her, do you understand me? She must never remember him!" Naruto whispered._

_Konohamaru smirked. "Ah, I see what's going on!"_

_Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You want Sakura-neechan to fall in love with you, so you don't want her to remember your competition! That's it huh! You play dirty Naruto-niisan!"_

_Naruto felt his cheeks heat up as he noticed Sakura was looking at him. He let out a nervous laugh as she pulled Konohamaru into a headlock. "Kids say the darndest things huh?"_

"_Let's continue our walk, Naruto" Sakura smiled as she said goodbye to Moegi's group._

_Naruto and Sakura began to walk as he felt something warm wrap around his right hand. Looking down, it was Sakura's hand laced with his. He hoped Sasuke came back quickly with that cure._

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Karin, how much further?" Sasuke asked as his team took a break from the non-stop running. Sasuke didn't want to waste any time, but he knew his group needed to catch their breath. Karin threw Suigetsu a bottle of water as he thanked her. The team had stopped inside a cave.

"We have a day left" Karin said. "We should reach the village around the afternoon tomorrow."

"How do you think Sakura-san is doing?" Juugo asked.

"She'll be fine as long as the dobe and the others don't say nor does anything to have her remember me" Sasuke said.

"What do you mean?" Suigetsu asked.

"What did you do to her before we left?" Karin asked.

"I erased her memories of me. More like locked it in her mind using my Sharingan" Sasuke said.

"Why did you do that?!" Karin asked. "Using the Sharingan on Sakura is one thing. But messing around with Sakura's mind and the reason why she's in that condition was because of the Sharingan might cause more damage than good."

"I know what I'm doing. Besides with this cure, we can save her" Sasuke said.

"How do we even know if the cure is real?" Suigetsu asked. Everyone was silent as they looked at Karin.

"The scroll looked legit. At least we're trying than not doing anything for Sakura" Karin said as she fixed her glasses.

"What do we do if the cure isn't real?" Suigetsu asked.

Karin hit Suigetsu hard in the head as he turned into water. "Will you stop being so god-damn negative?!"

"Enough!" Sasuke said using his leader-tone voice. "We'll make camp here. Karin, see if you can sense anyone"

Karin nodded as she closed her eyes and her hands formed a seal. After a minute or two, she opened her eyes again. "Nothing for miles"

"Good. We'll take shift watching over the camp just to be safe though." Sasuke said. "I'll take the first watch, followed by Suigetsu, Karin, and then Jugo."

Suigetsu and Karin nodded as they set up their camping bags around the cold floor as Jugo got the wood and Sasuke made the fire. Hours went by as silence entered the cave. The only thing Sasuke could hear was the light breathing of his friends and the crackling of the fire. Looking at his team, he remembered how Team seven was back in the days. Jugo began to change into a form of Kakashi. Suigetsu turned into a form of Naruto. Looking at Karin, she slowly turned into Sakura.

Sakura...

Sasuke began to wonder how she was doing right now. Was she crying? Was she laughing because Naruto did something funny or was she beating him up for being stupid and perverted? Was she beginning to realize her love for the idiot?

"Are you okay Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke snapped out of his thought as he looked to see Sakura asking him from where she was laying down.

"I'm fine." Sasuke said. He blinked his eyes a couple of times as the Sakura in front of him turned back into Karin.

"You're thinking about Sakura, aren't you?" Karin asked.

"Hn" Sasuke said as he turned his attention towards the fire.

"She's lucky" Karin said as she turned in her sleeping bag to look up at the cave's ceiling. "She has an entire village that loves her and friends that will do anything for her. She has a team that would die for her. She's strong, kind, beautiful…"

"…Perfect" Sasuke finished for her in a quite tone. Karin stared at Sasuke for a bit before asking her question.

"Do you regret it?" Karin asked. The look Sasuke gave her told her that he didn't understand her question or he was just acting stupid. "Leaving her when you were younger. Do you regret it?" Karin asked. "She could have still been in love with you if you didn't leave"

Sasuke let out a dark chuckle. "The dobe deserves her more. I can't take her away from him. Not after what he's done for me in the past. Besides, you're lucky too. The idiot next to you thinks of you like Naruto thinks of Sakura. This team would die for you too…"

Karin smiled as she looked at the sleeping form of Suigetsu. "Yeah…"

"Go to bed now Karin. You need your sleep" Sasuke told her.

Karin nodded as she smiled. "Thank you Sasuke-kun. You know, this is the first time we actually had a normal conversation. It's nice. Just know that it's not your fault if we don't find the cure. You gave it all you got. "

"Ah" Sasuke said as he watched Karin fall asleep.

A day…

They were just a day away from finding the cure and saving Sakura.

**XxXxXxXx**

"Happy Valentine's day!" Tenten said as her team met up at their usual meeting spot. She gave her boyfriend a box of chocolate covered in red wrapping with a white ribbon.

"Thank you Tenten!" Lee cried as he kissed her.

"There's my youthful students!" Gai said as he arrived with three presents in his hands. He handed Neji and Tenten a 'youthful' valentine card as he gave Lee a box of chocolate as well. It was wrapped with golden paper with a white bow on it.

"Those are special chocolates!" Gai whispered to Lee. "Make sure you don't give it to anyone else"

"Of course, Gai-sensei!" Lee said as he saluted him.

"What are we going to do today, sensei?" Tenten asked.

"My youthful rival, Kakashi, will bring his team over to train with us today!"

On cue, Team Kakashi appeared at the training ground.

"Sorry we're late!" Kakashi said as he closed his book. "My team and I got lost in the road of life"

"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura shouted as they pointed fingers at Kakashi.

"You're the one late like usual!" Naruto said.

"Don't put the blame on us Kaka-sensei!" Sakura said as she glared at him.

Sai and Yamato were silent as they waited for Naruto and Sakura to calm down. Kakashi just smiled as if remembering the old days. "We're going to train together. If you guys win, Gai's team will treat us for lunch" Kakashi grinned.

"Ramen!" Naruto cheered.

"Alright my youthful students. Sai will be going up against my youthful Lee, followed by Tenten and Naruto. Then Neji will go against Sakura" Gai said. "Now put your stuff down and get ready"

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten said worried about Sakura.

"Don't worry" Neji said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll just be helping her get use to fighting again."

Tenten pouted as she watched Sakura put her stuff down next to Lee's. Sakura soon took out a golden wrapped present with a white bow as she smiled. This was Naruto's valentine present. She hoped he liked it.

"Sakura-san, are you ready?" Neji called out for her. Sakura nodded.

Neji gave her a small smile. "We'll start off by seeing where you are with your chakra."

Sakura nodded again as she put her hands in a formation that Neji showed her. She closed her eyes and began to channel her chakra.

"OW!" Sakura opened her eyes when she heard Naruto cry out as he got stabbed by one of Tenten's weapons. Neji watched as her blue chakra turned green.

"Good. You're able to channel your healing chakra. Now try thinking of using your chakra to attack me. Can you do that?" Neji asked.

"I think so" Sakura said as she formed chakra into her right fist.

"Now, come and attack me" Neji said as he got into his battle stance. In a blink of an eye, Sakura disappeared from his sight. Neji immediately activated his Byakugan as he tried to find her. The others had stopped their match to watch theirs.

"Shannaro!" Neji heard her battle cry as Sakura came from the sky and aimed down at him with her fist. Neji quickly jumped to dodge it as her fist touched the ground. A large earthquake shook the training ground as everyone's stuff got mixed up, especially the valentine gifts.

"Sakura-san is so youthful!" Lee cheered.

"It's like she's back to normal" Sai observed.

"But will it last?" Tenten asked.

"Of course it will. This is Sakura-chan we're talking about!" Naruto grinned. "Sakura-chan would never give up, especially when it comes to herself."

After a couple minutes, Sakura fell to her knees as she began to have trouble breathing.

"Sakura!" Kakashi said worried as he came to her quickly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit tired" Sakura said as she fought to stay awake.

"Don't push yourself" Kakashi said in a fatherly tone. "Why don't we just end training today?"

"No!" Sakura objected. "But my battle-"

"It's fine" Neji said cutting her off. "We'll fight again when you get better"

Sakura pouted. "Come on Sakura-chan. Let's go home" Naruto said as he offered her his hand. Sakura smiled as she took it. Getting to her feet, she went to get her stuff but panicked when she saw the same valentine presents.

Choosing one, Sakura quickly put it her bag and went to where Naruto was waiting for her.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto went to his room as Sakura went to hers to put her stuff away. A couple minutes later, he heard knocking on the door.

"Come in" Naruto said. Sakura shyly came into the room. He noticed that she was hiding something behind her.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto called out for her.

"Here" Sakura said blushing. "It's Valentine's Day and I thought I should get you a present"

Naruto's eyes widened as he took the chocolate from her. He smiled as he patted the area next to him. That encouraged Sakura to sit down next to him on the bed.

"Thanks Sakura-chan" Naruto said giving her a friendly peck on the cheeks. Sakura blushed and watched as Naruto opened the box to reveal the chocolaty goodness. She was surprised when Naruto offered some.

"I can't eat this alone" Naruto grinned. Sakura laughed as she popped on in her mouth. The chocolate began to melt in her mouth as she tasted it along with this hidden flavor. Thinking it was just her, she continued to eat more.

Looking at Naruto, his face was beginning to turn pink. So it wasn't just her. Just what was in the chocolate? The two finally finished the box as they both fell back on the bed and laughed.

Naruto turned his head to the right to see Sakura smiling. He traced her cheek with his finger before playing with her hair.

"Naruto" Sakura began to speak. Naruto, though in his buzzed state, could hear the seriousness in Sakura's voice. Sakura moved closer to him as she stared at him with her mesmerizing green eyes.

"I think I've fallen in love with you" Sakura said. Before she knew it she was pinned to the bed. Looking up, she saw Naruto's beautiful eyes looking down at her.

"N-Naruto" Sakura said as Naruto rested his forehead on hers. She could see that genuine smile on his face.

"Sakura-chan. You don't know how long I've waited to hear that" Naruto said to her. "I love you. So much, it hurts"

Sakura was silent but she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Naruto, do me this one favor" Sakura said. Naruto didn't say anything as Sakura continued. "Kiss me"

Sakura felt pressure on her lips as she kissed him back. Naruto pulled away as he began to kiss down her neck. Sakura sighed with pleasure as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto stopped at her pulse as he began to suck on it.

"Naruto" Sakura moaned as she could feel his warm hands move under her shirt as he unclasped her bra. She didn't do anything to stop him. Honestly, she didn't want him to.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The next morning, Naruto opened his eyes to see his lovely angel sleeping next to him. He watched the sunlight hit her, making her glow. Fixing a few strand of her hair, he heard a knock on the window. Making sure to cover Sakura's body, he quickly pulled on his pants as he went to see who it was.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said as he opened the door.

"I guess I didn't have to lend you two my book" Kakashi smirked.

Naruto blushed but got serious. "What are you doing here?"

"We were giving a mission" Kakashi said.

"What!" Naruto was surprised. "What about Sakura-chan?"

"Itachi will watch over her while we're gone" Kakashi said.

"But…"

"We found Kabuto and possibly Jiraiya's killer" Kakashi said.

Naruto's eyes widened. They found Jiraiya's killer. But what would he do when he met that person?

"When is the mission?" Naruto asked.

"In an hour" Kakashi said.

"I'll be there. Just give me some time to…" Naruto didn't finish as he looked back at Sakura's sleeping form.

"I understand" Kakashi said. "See you then" With that he disappeared.

Naruto sighed as he shut the door.

"You have a mission…" Naruto jumped when he heard Sakura's voice.

"I thought you were sleeping" Naruto said as he went to the bed and went under the blankets. He pulled Sakura close to him.

"When are you leaving?" Sakura asked.

"In an hour" Naruto said as he began to place kisses on her neck. Sakura giggled.

"How long will you be gone?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know. But I'll come back as fast as I can" Naruto said.

"Promise?" Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded his head. "I promise"

**XxXxXxX**

"Everyone ready to go?" Yamato asked as he scanned his group that consisted of Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and Ino.

"Be safe" Tsunade said. Shizune was next to her with Ton-Ton in her hands. "I've been up against her before. She's not one to underestimate. She has the power of the elements. And when you find her and possibly-"

"If we find Jiraiya's body, we'll bring him back home, where he belongs" Kakashi said. Tsunade bit her lip as everyone could see her eyes watery.

"Thank you" Tsunade said.

"Wait!" A familiar voice called out. Everyone turned around to see Sakura running up to them out of breath.

"Sakura?" Ino said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you guys off" Sakura said trying to catch her breath. "Come back safely" she said with a smile.

"We will" Kakashi said as he ruffled her hair.

Everyone began to take off as Naruto stayed a bit. "Sakura-chan" Naruto said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He placed a soft but long kiss on her lips that simply took her breath away. "Take care while I'm gone"

"I will" Sakura said as she watched him leave to catch up with the others. Making sure he couldn't see her, she covered her mouth as she coughed a bit. Looking at her hand, she couldn't help but see a small trace of blood.

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**Sorry it was so short, this is all i came up with. Oh no! What's going on with Sakura?! Is the cure Sasuke and the others are trying to find real? What will happen when Naruto faces Kameko? Find out next time on Gomenasai! Please review everyone! Tell me if you want me to continue this story or not.  
**

**-Kumiko**


	32. Chapter 32

**Yes, yes I know! I finally updated a story. I'm been so busy lately with school, FAFSA, moving from my apartment to a new house, fixing that new house, the list goes on. I decided to continue this story. I finally found a way to end it as well and maybe a sequel? But we will see. Hope you guys like this chapter. Don't forget to review. It will make me happy.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Everyone ready to go?" Yamato asked as he scanned his group that consisted of Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and Ino._

"_Be safe" Tsunade said. Shizune was next to her with Ton-Ton in her hands. "I've been up against her before. She's not one to underestimate. She has the power of the elements. And when you find her and possibly-"_

"_If we find Jiraiya's body, we'll bring him back home, where he belongs" Kakashi said. Tsunade bit her lip as everyone could see her eyes watery._

"_Thank you" Tsunade said._

"_Wait!" A familiar voice called out. Everyone turned around to see Sakura running up to them out of breath._

"_Sakura?" Ino said surprised. "What are you doing here?"_

"_I wanted to see you guys off" Sakura said trying to catch her breath. "Come back safely" she said with a smile._

"_We will" Kakashi said as he ruffled her hair._

_Everyone began to take off as Naruto stayed a bit. "Sakura-chan" Naruto said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He placed a soft but long kiss on her lips that simply took her breath away. "Take care while I'm gone"_

"_I will" Sakura said as she watched him leave to catch up with the others. Making sure he couldn't see her, she covered her mouth as she coughed a bit. Looking at her hand, she couldn't help but see a small trace of blood._

**XxXxXxXxx**

It had been two days since Naruto and the others left for their mission. Itachi frowned as he had been hearing Sakura coughing a lot lately. Was she getting sick or something? Entering her room, he saw her rolling a lot in her bed as she coughed more.

"Haruno-san" Itachi called out.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes as she looked at Itachi. For some reason, she thought she saw a boy with shorter spiky hair.

"Yes?" Sakura asked weakly.

"Do you have a cough?" Itachi asked.

Sakura shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about!" She watched, frightened, as Itachi's red eyes narrowed at her. In a blink of an eye, he was right in front of her as he grabbed her hand. He flipped it to see spots of blood. Sakura immediately grabbed her hand back as she couldn't dare look at him in the eye.

"Why did you hide this from me?" Itachi asked. Sakura gulped. She felt like a child being scold for hiding a broken vase.

"I-I didn't want you to worry…" Sakura said honestly.

Itachi sighed as he ran his hand through his bangs. "Hn…" Sakura saw him get up and began to walk out of the room. She felt panic run through her veins.

"W-Where are you going?" She asked.

"I need to inform the Hokage about this" Itachi said as he began to leave.

"P-Please! D-Don't! Itachi-san!" Sakura called out as she tried to get out of bed. "I don't want-"

**'_I DON'T WANT TO BE A BURDEN!'_**

Before she knew it, she began to cough more to the point where more blood came out. Sakura fell to the ground as her face rested on the floor.

"W-What's wrong with me?" Sakura asked herself before. Her body was twitching around on the floor.

"Haruno-san! Stay awake" was all she heard Itachi say before darkness took over her. Itachi tried to open her eyes. When he did, he was shocked. Sakura's eyes were turning into five different colors.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"Kameko-hime" Kabuto said as he bowed in front of the floating mirror. "I just received word that Tsunade had sent a team here!" In the mirror, Kabuto watched as Kameko's dark purple eyes opened and gave him a piercing glance.

"So she knows I'm still a threat." Kameko smirked as she touched her white hair. Moving her hand up to the blood red flower in her hair, she plucked a petal and kissed it. The petal glowed as it came out of the glass and appeared in front of Kabuto. It slowly formed into a black dove.

"Hm, seems like its Naruto-kun's team." Kabuto said. "Surprisingly, Sakura Haruno isn't in the group."

Kameko's eyes widened at the name. "Sakura Haruno?" There were still members of the Haruno clan around? "Describe to me this Sakura Haruno."

Kabuto closed his eyes to think. "She has pink hair and green eyes. Her hair was short the last time I met her. She's the apprentice of Tsunade the Slug Princess and the teammates of Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha, Sai, Yamato, and Naruto Uzumaki. The last boy has the Kyuubi in him."

The Kyuubi had her element of fire. The Haruno chick probably didn't have the clan's powers with her. Rumor had it that it died along with Kiyoko many years ago. Still this was perfect! Not only would she get her powers back, she would get her revenge on Kiyoko and the Slug Princess as well with this Sakura. Kameko released her black dove as the mirror glowed blue. "Kabuto, make sure that no one will interfere with me as i prepare the ritual." Kameko ordered as the water under them split. At the bottom was the body of Jiraiya.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"There! She's coming around now." Sakura heard a familiar voice. Sakura slowly opened her eyes as she found herself strapped down on the bed.

"Sakura?" The voice spoke. Sakura's eyesight became clear as she could see herself looking at the Hokage.

"Shishou?" Sakura whispered.

"Tsunade-sama! Her eyes are still at that condition!" Sakura heard Shizune speak. "What's happening to her?"

"It's the elements…" Tsunade whispered. "The ones that entered her body that day, it's affecting her greatly."

"Can't you take it out of her?" Itachi asked.

"I've tried but it's like the orbs are preventing me from reaching them. Only Sakura's other self can deal with them." Tsunade said as she bit her lower lip.

"Why are you restraining me?" Sakura shouted.

"You attacked Itachi while he was trying to help you." Shikamaru said as he came into the room with Temari.

"I-I attacked Itachi?" Sakura questioned as she looked at the man himself. Itachi nodded.

"It was like your body had a mind of its own…" Itachi said as he closed his eyes.

**Flashback**

"_W-What's wrong with me?" Sakura asked herself before. Her body was twitching around on the floor._

"_Haruno-san! Stay awake" was all she heard him say before darkness took over her. Itachi tried to open her eyes. When he did, he was shocked. Sakura's eyes were turning into five different colors. Sakura's body soon began to levitate from the floor._

_Her eyes changed blue as water seemed to have formed out of her body and attacked Itachi with it. Itachi dodged it as he rolled out of the bedroom. He immediately ran out of the apartment as Sakura flew out of her bedroom window. The glass fell to the ground as she floated to where Itachi was heading. Itachi frowned as he ran towards a secluded area._

"_Haruno-san, stop it" Itachi said calmly as he watched her every move. It was like she was possessed or something._

_Her eyes flashed red while Itachi quickly evaded the fire formed as birds. One quickly lit him on fire as Itachi used substitution jutsu and came behind Sakura as he flipped her on her back. Sakura's eyes narrowed as Itachi straddled her and put a kunai near her throat._

"_Take back control!" Itachi said but Sakura couldn't. He could tell. He soon used his Sharingan on her to make her pass out and took her to Tsunade. On the way there, he stumbled upon Shikamaru and Temari as the four all went to the hospital._

**End of flashback**

"I'd never do that!" Sakura said as she tried to break out of her restraints. She was shocked that she did such a thing.

"We know…" Tsunade said cautiously.

"Then take off the restraints." Sakura growled.

"Not until we know what's wrong with you" Shizune said.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Sakura raised her voice.

"Please calm down Sakura." Temari said.

"I am calmed down!" She spoke in such a tone nobody has ever heard her say before.

Itachi noticed a black dove sitting on a branch near the open window. His eyes narrowed. There was no such thing as a black dove. Also, the dove seemed to be giving off strong chakra. Looking over at Tsunade, she seemed to have noticed the bird as well.

"We have a guest." Tsunade muttered. "Shizune!"

"I'm on it" Shizune said as she began to spit out poison needles at the bird's direction. The bird cried out as it zoomed into the hospital room.

"It's fast!" Shizune said. Everyone watched as the bird began to grow in size.

"What is that?" Tsunade asked. "Itachi, take Sakura out of here!"

Itachi nodded as he began to move towards Sakura. Before he could, the bird began to flap its wings as a powerful gust of wind came into the room. Itachi was flown out of the room as Tsunade and Shizune crashed into the wall. Temari tried to counterattack the attack with her own as Shikamaru used his jutsu on the bird. It worked, but they were taken by surprised by the bird's screeching. Temari dropped her fan as her and Shikamaru covered their ears as blood dripped out. Sakura was behind the bird so she was not affected by it. The bird took off the restraints with its beak as it grabbed Sakura by the claws. It soon flew out the window.

"Sakura!" Tsunade shouted as the bird made its escape with her apprentice. "SAKURA!"

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

A tall figure was walking around the forest as he sensed something big floating in the air. The bird was as big as Deidara's clay bird.

"Nah, it couldn't be him. That brat is dead." The man said. His fish like eyes widened when he noticed what the bird was holding in its claws. "Pinky?"

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"We made it!" Karin said happily as they entered the village with the rumored cure. The villagers walked by and stared at the outsiders.

"How may we help you?" One of the gate soldiers asked.

"Take us to your leader!" Suigetsu ordered as he pointed his sword at the guard.

Karin slapped her forehead. "Idiot!"

"You want to see our leader? What is your business with her?" the guard asked.

"We heard she has the answer to our problem." Sasuke said. The guard looked at the group before nodding and letting them in. Another guard came up to them and led the group to a building.

"Our lady is right in this room." The solider said as he opened the door.

Sasuke nodded as he walked in. Juugo followed after with the couple behind him. In front of them, they saw a chair behind a desk as it turned around. Everyone's mouth dropped when they saw a child with pink hair and grey eyes.

"This is the village leader?" Sasuke scoffed. "Don't joke with me!"

A kunai had cut him on the cheek as it embedded itself on the door behind him. Karin and the others watched as it was on fire.

"She's just a child!" Suigetsu said surprised at the skills the child had.

"She's blind!" Karin whispered.

"Indeed…" said an elderly man behind them. "The name is Masashi. This person in front of you is Kiyoko-sama."

"Juugo" Juugo introduced himself first.

"I'm Suigetsu Hoozuki"

"Karin"

"Sasuke Uchiha. Now, where is the real leader of the village? I can't waste anymore time! I have to get back to her!" Sasuke said.

"But Uchiha-san, she i-"Masashi was interrupted by the child in front of them.

"It's okay Masashi-kun, I'll tell them." Kiyoko said as she got up. "My name is Kiyoko. How are things going in Konoha?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Sasuke questioned.

"I was a Jounin from Konoha." Kiyoko said with a smile.

"That can't be. You're 12!" Karin said as she pushed her eye glasses up.

"Actually, if my real self was still alive, I'd be a bit older than Tsunade-chan." Kiyoko said.

Everyone had a confused look on their faces. Kiyoko began to tell the gang the same story that Tsunade had told Shikamaru and Shiho. "After I had sealed Kameko up, I sealed the last two elements into me."

"Wouldn't that threaten your health?" Suigetsu asked.

Kiyoko nodded. "It weakened me to the point where I could barely get out of bed. I was dying. My sister, Kaede, could tell. The hour before I died, I transferred the jutsu out of me and into two scrolls. I don't know what happened to me after that, but Masashi told me that I was reborn again."

"I don't know how it happened, but the person that gave birth to Kiyoko-sama told me who she was in her previous life. So, my wife and I have been raising her as the priestess and ninja she was." Masashi said.

"If that story is true, then that makes you Sakura's grandmother. You have to save her!" Karin said. "Use that healing power your clan is known for!"

"I cannot help her." Kiyoko said.

"What are you talking about?" Suigetsu asked. "Your granddaughter is dying!"

"I don't have the power of my clan anymore. I'm sorry." Kiyoko said. "You guys came here for nothing…"

Everyone soon jumped as Sasuke punched a hole through the wall. "Don't fuck with me!" Sasuke yelled. "I'm not going back to the village until there's a way to save Sakura. I can't let her die!"

"Sasuke-kun…" Karin muttered.

"There might be one person who might know a way to save her." Kiyoko said. "In the Haruno clan, the female always has another person inside of her."

"Inner Sakura!" Sasuke said as he looked up at the child in front of him. Kiyoko could see the light of hope that appeared in his eyes.

"So you've met her already." Kiyoko said. "You must find a way to teleport yourselves into her mind once again. The inner self might know how to save Sakura. That's all I can tell you."

Sasuke immediately ran out of the door as Juugo and Suigetsu followed. Karin was about to leave when she felt a hand on her wrist.

"Karin, was it?" Kiyoko asked.

Karin nodded. Kiyoko wrote something in a scroll as she handed it to her. "If worse comes to worse, then give this to Tsunade. She'll know what I'm talking about."

"Thanks." Karin said as she quickly went to follow her teammates. As the door closed, Kiyoko heard Masashi sigh.

"Why must you lie to them?" Masashi asked.

Kiyoko had looked out her window to see the group leave her village. "The Uchiha boy looked so pathetic. I heard so much about what he's been through and what he had done. It surprised me to see him so worried about my 'supposed' grandchild. There really isn't anything we can do, but just pray. The only think I can think of is let the Karin girl do what Tsunade did to me."

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Kabuto watched anxiously as Jiraiya's body slowly lifted up from the bottom and in front of them. It freaked him out a bit. He expected Jiraiya to open his eyes and attack.

"She's here!" Kabuto heard Kameko say as a black portal appeared out of nowhere. A black dove came with Sakura Haruno in its claws.

"She really is a Haruno with that pink hair of hers. She reminds me of Kiyoko so much that it sickens me." Kameko said as she came out of the mirror. She was only able to move around the cave. There was a barrier around the area so she couldn't leave. "Kabuto, place a seal on the entrance of the cave. I'll deal with Sakura."

"Yes" Kabuto said as he left. Kameko made a few hand seals as a circle of light appeared out of the blue. Sakura's body slowly lifted to it as her wrists and ankles were restrained by ropes. Sakura slowly opened her eyes to see a stranger that seemed a bit familiar to her. It was like she had seen her in her dreams before. Looking around, her eyes widened when she saw the body of Jiraiya a couple feet away.

"You…" Sakura began to say. "You're the one who killed Jiraiya."

Kameko smirked. "He was a nuisance!"

"How could you!" Sakura growled. "HOW COULD YOU!"

Kameko's eyes widened with amusement as water formed around Sakura and began to attack her. Kameko quickly jumped out of the way to dodge it.

"So you have my powers brat!" Kameko said. "I'll be taking it back now."

Sakura watched with fear as Kameko came walking close to her as her hand headed towards her face. Kameko soon stopped her actions once she heard explosion from the entrance of the cave. In a blink of an eye, Kabuto was sent flying towards them.

"So, you're the one who kidnapped pinky." Kisame said as he held his sword over his shoulder.

"K-Kisame…" Sakura whispered. She remembered him as Itachi's friend.

"Who do you think you are?" Kameko asked.

"That's Kisame Hoshigaki. He was a member of Akatsuki. If I heard correctly, he's the last surviving member." Kabuto said, fixing his glasses.

"Kabuto, eh?" Kisame grinned. "Who would have thought Orochimaru's bitch would stop being loyal?"

"What are you doing here?" Kabuto growled with embarrassment.

"You guys kidnapped the girl from Konoha. So I thought it would be nice of me to return her." Kisame said.

"Kabuto, take care of this guest." Kameko said as she began to go up to Sakura. "As I was saying, I'll be taking it back now." Kameko went to touch Sakura's forehead as five gems appeared. Each gem represented the elements Sakura had inside of her.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Naruto made a halt as he saw a large slug had appeared in front of him.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Ino asked. She looked to see Tsunade's slug in front of them. "Katsuyu?"

"Something is wrong. Tsunade wouldn't summon her to us if there wasn't an emergency!" Yamato said.

"What happened?" Pakkun asked.

"Oh the worse! Sakura-hime had been kidnapped!" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Who kidnapped her?!" Naruto growled.

"The person who killed Jiraiya-sama!" Katsuyu cried. "I sent my daughter to tell Sasuke and his team, just in case he was in the area." Pakkun sniffed the air once more after taking in the scent of Sakura. She did after all use the same shampoo as he.

"I got a scent!" Pakkun announced.

"Good job!" Kakashi said. "Lead the way."

"Sakura-chan, I'm coming!" Naruto yelled.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"What?!" Sasuke growled. "I thought Naruto was taking care of her?!"

"He was sent on a mission so Itachi was taking care of her. She had an episode and was taken to the hospital. Soon this large bird came and attacked everyone at the hospital and took off with Sakura." Katsuyu's daughter said.

"What are we going to do?" Suigetsu said. "We have to find Sakura and get that inner self of hers to help us!"

"Well, I heard the Haruno clan originated from the Snow village. Maybe you guys can find something there!" The slug suggested.

"We don't have time. We have to save Sakura." Juugo said.

"Karin, can you sense her around here?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll try." Karin said as she closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she opened them. "Found you!"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Sakura begun to cry out in pain as she felt Kameko literally pulled the elements out of her. Sakura weakly watched as the orbs circled around the circular light that was holding her up.

"Sakura!" Kisame called out as he hit Kabuto with his sword. He glided in front of Sakura as he pointed his sword at Kameko.

"Let her go," Kisame said. "Or else I will rip you to shreds."

"I'd love to see you try." Kameko smirked. Kisame summoned sharks as Kameko went to dodge it. He soon took the chance to see if he could break Sakura out of her hold. He noticed it was all charka. "You hungry, Samehada?" Kisame asked as he looked at his sword. Slamming it against the hold, the circle disappeared as Sakura fell to her knees. She would have fallen into the water if Kisame didn't hold her up.

"T-Thank you…" Sakura whispered. Kisame placed her next to Jiraiya's body as he went to fight off Kameko. Sakura weakly looked up and stared at Jiraiya's body. It was a sad sight to look at.

Sakura placed her small hands on top of his chest as she tried healing him. She found it useless.

'**You cannot heal the dead even with the Angel's tears'**

"Why?" Sakura asked the voice in her head. "I thought the Angel's tears could save 1,000 people."

"**That's because he died a long time. If he died today, you would have been able to heal him."**

Sakura tuned out the voice inside of her head as she tried to concentrate on the jutsu. A mark appeared on her forehead as it went across and down the sides of her face. Angel-like wings were transparent behind her. Kameko stopped her fight with Kisame as she watched pinkish white light emit from Sakura's hands.

"Angel's tears…"Kameko whispered. "So it still exists!" Kisame watched surprised when Kameko hit him in the gut hard as she flew towards Sakura. Sakura screamed as her back hit the cave's walls hard. Kameko held her up by the throat as Sakura was struggling to breathe.

"You really are from the Haruno clan. You remind me of Kiyoko so much!" Kameko said. Kisame and Kabuto watched as Kameko had licked Sakura on the cheek. "I'll be taking that power from you as we-"She didn't finish her sentence as an ink -draw tiger pounced on her.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Sakura weakly turned to see her blond savior as he charged at Kameko with his Oodama Rasengan.

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**How was that? Naruto and Kameko will finally have a face off. Who expected Kisame to come and save Sakura first? I hope you guys noticed the clues/hints i left in this chapter. Haha anyhoo, please wait for my next update. Thank you for reading.**

**-Kumiko**


	33. Chapter 33

** Like i said in Sakura Kiss, I had just moved to a new place and haven't had internet until today. Since I haven't updated in a while, here's a present for you guys for being so patient. I updated Sakura Kiss, Sakura no Akuma, and Gomenasai!**

**Disclaimer: **Sadly I don't own Naruto or else Sakura would have acted like a ninja every chance she got. Damn it! I WANT TO SEE SASUKE AND SAKURA FIGHT! PLEASE KISHIMOTO! Let Sakura throw in a couple charka filled punches, deadly kicks, etc. I just want Sasuke to get his ass whooped for once.

_**Last time on Gomenasai…**_

_Sakura tuned out the voice inside of her head as she tried to concentrate on the jutsu. A mark appeared on her forehead as it went across and down the sides of her face. Angel-like wings were transparent behind her. Kameko stopped her fight with Kisame as she watched pinkish white light emit from Sakura's hands._

"_Angel's tears…"Kameko whispered. "So it still exists!" Kisame watched surprised when Kameko hit him in the gut hard as she flew towards Sakura. Sakura screamed as her back hit the cave's walls hard. Kameko held her up by the throat as Sakura was struggling to breathe._

"_You really are from the Haruno clan. You remind me of Kiyoko so much, it sickens me!" Kameko said. "I'll be taking that power from you as we-"She didn't finish her sentence as an ink -draw tiger pounced on her._

"_SAKURA-CHAN!" Sakura weakly turned to see her blond savior as he charged at Kameko with his Oodama Rasengan. _

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Kameko smirked as she somehow made herself transparent. Naruto's eyes widened when his attack went through her and aimed towards Sakura who was behind her.

"Sakura!" Ino screamed.

Everyone felt relief with Kisame came and stopped the attack with his sword.

"Kisame!" Naruto said, surprised.

"Be careful brat!" Kisame said as he picked Sakura up.

"Hoshigaki, can you take Sakura back to Konoha?" Kakashi asked as he ran up to the three.

"Can you really trust me?" Kisame asked.

Kakashi looked at Sakura, who was in Kisame's arms, and nodded. "Sakura was able to trust you…"

Kisame nodded as he took off.

"No!" Kameko screamed as she attacked Kisame. The attack caused Kisame to drop Sakura into the water as she went under.

"Sakura!" Ino cried as she was getting ready to dive into the water to get her. She was soon stopped by Kabuto who had knocked her out with a high level medical attack. He soon went to attack Sai who came after him. Yamato growled as he had to save either Sakura or watch over Naruto. His tails were coming out.

"The Kyuubi." Kameko purred. "I could feel my power inside of you." She said as she sent her hand into his stomach and grabbed the power of fire in his belly. Naruto screamed in pain as Kakashi went to help him.

"Chidori!" Kakashi stopped in surprise as Sasuke sent his attack at Kameko. She was caught off guard and was sent flying. Help had arrived.

"Where's Sakura?" Karin asked as she entered the cave and went to heal Ino.

Suigetsu looked underwater and saw a hint of pink falling deeper in. "Sakura!" Suigetsu dived into the water.

"Damn it." Kameko said. Too many people were interfering. "Kabuto! We have to get out of here!" She said as she went back into the mirror. Kabuto grabbed the mirror and looked at his opponents.

"You guys got lucky." He said as he disappeared into flames.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted. "Damn!" His eyes soon landed on the body of his sensei.

"Pervy-sage…" Naruto muttered. He soon remembered Sakura. "Sakura-chan! Where's Sakura-chan?"

"She's right here…" Suigetsu said as he had her in his arms. Sai checked her pulse.

"She's still alive but she's not breathing." Sai said. Naruto moved Sai out of the way as he began to perform CPR. Everyone watched intensely as Sakura began to cough out water after a few minutes.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. "Are you okay?"

Sakura blinked her eyes a couple times as she stared up at him. "Naruto? What are you doing here in Akatsuki's hide out?"

Everyone's eyes widened. What was she talking about?

"Shikamaru told you guys I was here, didn't he!" Sakura said weakly. "I'm sorry." Sakura broke down crying. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't stop Sasuke from leaving again! I'm sorry for being a burden! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She soon collapsed in his arms.

Naruto didn't know what to say as tears appeared in his eyes and rolled down his cheek.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"What's wrong with her?" Kakashi asked. Everyone was in the hospital waiting to hear what happened to Sakura.

"I'm not sure right now." Tsunade said biting her lower lip. She began flipping through the papers on her clipboard. "Given the information you guys told me, it seems Sakura's state of mind was when she was caught in Akatsuki's hideout last year. I can't explain it!"

"So you mean to tell me that she doesn't remember what happened since then? She doesn't remember me coming back home?" Sasuke snapped.

"Shut up Sasuke!" Itachi said. "Shouting will not fix anything."

"Did you guys find anything on your mission so far?" Shizune asked, trying to change the subject.

"We came upon the village. There was a leader named Kiyoko. She said that you guys knew each other." Juugo answered. People jumped when they heard Tsunade drop the clipboard in her hands.

"Kiyoko?" Tsunade repeated.

"Yeah. Oh, she wanted me to give you this scroll." Karin said, handing it to her.

"Y-You should stop with the mission." A timid voice said.

Everyone looked to see Hinata standing there with Kiba. Kiba was surprised to see Kisame standing in the room.

"What's he doing here?" He asked, pushing his girlfriend behind him.

"Kiba! It's okay." Naruto said. "He saved Sakura before we came."

"T-Thank you." Hinata said as she bowed to Kisame.

"Eh, it's alright." Kisame said a bit embarrassed.

"I-Is it okay if I talk to Naruto-kun, Ino-chan, Sasuke-san, and Hatake-sensei?" Hinata asked.

The five went to one of the waiting rooms as they all took a seat.

"What did you want to talk about Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Well you see…Neji-niisan and I were discussing about Sakura-chan with our teams. W-We think Sasuke-san should come back from the mission and stay by Sakura-chan's side. Y-You all should stop with the missions." Hinata said as she looked at her entwined hands. "Sasuke-san, I know you have good intension for leaving to find Sakura-chan a cure, but think about it. Is that what Sakura-chan needs right now? Does she need someone to leave her every two months?"

No one said anything. Hinata took that as a sign to continue.

"She needs you all to stay with her. What she needs is your love and attention. She needs you guys to be there for her. All of you. What if there wasn't a cure-"

"There is a cure." Sasuke cut her off. "Kiyoko said so. Sakura's inner self is the answer!"

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Are you sure about that Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"She said so herself. She is Sakura's grandmother. She's the one who sealed Kameko away." Sasuke said. "I had Karin talk to Tsunade about that."

"So Sakura will be okay?" Ino asked. You could hear the hope in her voice. Sasuke nodded.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura opened her eyes as she saw herself in the hospital. Wasn't she in Akatsuki's hideout? Sakura tried to remember everything that happened. She remembered falling off the cliff and into the ocean. She remembered entering the hideout and finding scrolls in Itachi's room. That's right. She was caught by him. But she could sense someone else in the room with them, someone really powerful. Itachi trapped her in a genjutsu. She was mad at him when she woke up and they fought. She remembered finding out that Itachi was blind. The scrolls she found were about the Kyuubi and the Uchiha clan. Itachi tried to protect her from someone powerful. He was acting. She remembered him telling her that. He was a double-spy for Konoha. He was actually the good guy. She remembered waking up and saw Naruto. He saved her from Akatsuki's hideout, right?

Sakura slowly got up and looked at her surroundings. She was hooked to an IV. Looking around, she saw Kakashi and Yamato sleeping on the chairs in the room. Sasuke and Naruto were on both sides of her bed sleeping. W-Wait? Sasuke was back in Konoha? They both were holding her hands. She spotted Sai, awake, drawing in the moonlight.

"S-Sai?" Sakura called out. Her voice was a bit off.

"How are you feeling?" Sai asked.

"I-I'm confused. What's Sasuke doing back here? Did Naruto bring him back without me?" Sakura asked.

"You don't remember anything?" Sai frowned. Sakura shook her head. "You went on a mission in September with Shikamaru, Lee, and Neji. You went missing for a while. Kakashi, Yamato, and I saved you from that hideout. You were in very bad condition. Ugly, it's now February. You don't remember anything that happened since?"

"February? Was I in a coma that long? Didn't Naruto save me?" Sakura said as she removed her hands from her boys' grips and clutched her head.

Sai's eyes widened when he saw Sakura began to shake uncontrollably. Sai went to soothe her but she spurned him. "Don't touch me!" Sakura screamed, waking up everyone else in the room.

"Sakura." Kakashi said as he went to her.

"Don't come near me!" She screamed. "This has to be an illusion! I'm still trapped in a genjutsu huh? Sasuke-kun never came back. He'd never come back until Itachi is dead. Naruto hated me. This isn't real!" She cried.

Ino came into the room. "What's going on?"

"Call Tsunade-sama." Yamato said. "We have a problem."

"I'm sorry about this…" Kakashi said activating his Sharingan. Sakura slowly fainted and fell back on her bed.

Tsunade came into the room a couple minutes later as she did a check up on her. She had kicked out everyone in the room. Sakura had awakened and was now calm with Tsunade around.

"Shishou, what's wrong with me?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, Sakura." Tsunade said.

"I remember finding scrolls about the Kyuubi and the Uchiha clan." Sakura said. "There were jutsu. There was a way to take out the Kyuubi without killing the holder."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "What?"

"I-I wanted to find a way to help Naruto, and this was it." Sakura said.

"No. We don't know the side effects of the jutsu." Tsunade objected. "I won't risk your life on it."

"It doesn't' matter…" Sakura said. "I'm dying anyways…" Sakura's eyes widened as did Tsunade's. "Why did I say that?" She asked herself.

Tsunade gave Sakura a hard look as she wrote something on her clipboard.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The next day, Tsunade decided to call Team Seven in with a theory she had.

"Did something happen to Sakura?" Yamato asked. Tsunade shook her head.

"Actually, I might have figured what's going on with Sakura. As you all know, her state of mind is from when Sai found her in Akatsuki's base last year. Since Sakura has 'two minds' in her, it is possible that the other part of her had kept all the memories that happened after the horrid incident. In order for Sakura to use her clan's jutsu, her and inner Sakura has to become one in order for it to work, which means, combining the minds together. From what Kisame reported before he left, Sakura was trying to heal Jiraiya but Kameko had interfered. That could have triggered a side effect, causing Sakura's mind to get mixed up. So the memories Sakura had before is possible locked up with Inner Sakura and Sakura's mind to remember everything up to the time she was locked up in the hideout." Tsunade said.

"That's quite a theory." A voice said.

Naruto turned around to see the Kazekage come into the office.

"Gaara!" Naruto said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"The Hokage called us in." Kankuro said as he entered the room after his younger brother.

"Gaara, I need you do me a favor." Tsunade said.

"Name it. I want to make it up to you for not helping when Akatsuki attacked." Gaara said.

"Alright." Tsunade nodded. "I want you to investigate something for me at the Snow Village where the Haruno clan originated from." Shizune handed Gaara a scroll as he tucked in his pocket.

"May I have permission to visit Sakura?" Gaara asked.

"Very well. If you're able to pick up something interesting, report it immediately."

"Of course." Gaara said.

"Shizune, can you lead our guests to their destination?" Tsunade asked.

"Right away!" Shizune said as the three left.

"I'm supposed to go to Snow!" Sasuke said. "That was my mission!"

"You being here is more important for Sakura right now. I hope you guys didn't mind, but I had my slug eavesdrop on your conversation with Hinata." Tsunade said. "I believe Hinata is right. Having you guys leave won't help Sakura get any better. We don't have much time and Sakura knows that. We all do. So I want her to use the remaining time she has with you guys. No missions unless necessary."

"So you just want us to watch her die?" Sai asked.

"No, I want you guys to be there for her. To support her until you guys can't anymore." Tsunade answered.

Sai let out a frustrated growl before disappearing into ink. Sasuke followed his footsteps and also disappeared along with Naruto. Tsunade sighed.

"They're hurting…" Yamato said.

"I know…" Tsunade said quietly as she clenched her fists. "I am too."

**XxXxXxXxX**

Gaara and Kankuro entered Sakura's room. They were shocked to see her not in the room. They soon informed Shizune who told Tsunade.

Sakura had left the hospital room, in hopes to understand what was going on. Running around Konoha deep in thought, she didn't see the person in front of her.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sakura apologized quickly.

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura looked up to see Sharingan eyes staring down at her. "I-Itachi?! What are you doing here in Konoha?"

"You forgotten, haven't you?" Itachi said sadly. "Come with me, I'll tell you everything."

The two ended up at Hokage Mountain. The two looked down at the view of Konoha.

"Where do you want me to start off?" Itachi asked.

"From the very beginning…" Sakura said crossing her arms. Itachi sighed. This was going to take a while.

An hour passed as Itachi finished talking and answering Sakura's questions in between.

"So let me get this straight? My clan has a secret jutsu that everyone wants and trying to kill me to get it? Why can't I remember anything?"

"That's because the memories are probably painful for you to remember it. Your inner self must have locked it up for you." Itachi said.

"You're blind too, aren't you?" Sakura asked as she touched the corner of Itachi's right eye. He nodded. He soon felt a cool mint feeling in his eyes. Itachi's eyes widened when he realized that Sakura was performing a jutsu on him. He didn't know what to think or feel as the blurriness in his vision disappeared. He could see clearly now.

"What did you-"

"I-I remembered reading something in the scrolls I found." Itachi narrowed his eyes when he realized that Sakura was out of breath. She looked pale too. "For some reason, I felt like I had practiced that jutsu."

"You idiot!" Itachi said. "You're just making yourself worse!"

"It's okay…" Sakura said. "It's o...kay…" She had fallen asleep as Itachi caught her. He sighed. He had to report this to Tsunade.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"You guys still haven't found her?!" Tsunade shouted as she slammed her fist on the table. The victims of the Hokage's fury were Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke. "How hard is it to find a person with pink hair!"

"She's safe…" Shikamaru said as he nodded to something behind her. Tsunade turned around to see Itachi standing in a tree with Sakura on his back.

"Uchiha!" Tsunade said as she opened the window for the two. "Are you the one who found her?"

"Ah" Itachi said. "Y-You have to check on her. She performed a jutsu on me. Do you still have the scrolls Sakura had found at the base?"

Tsunade signaled Shizune to fetch the boxes that held the scrolls. Itachi gave Sakura to Shikamaru while Tsunade check over Sakura. She was fine. She had just fallen asleep. Itachi had begun to search through the box until he found what he was looking for. He opened it and began to read down the scroll.

"Damn it…" Itachi muttered.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"She read the scrolls and memorized this jutsu." Itachi said pointing to the last jutsu on the page. Sasuke read it himself as everyone watched his eyes widened.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called out.

"When an Uchiha overuses their Sharingan, the effects are blindness. Itachi always had his on. So he was losing his sight as well. Normally we accepted the blindness but we had a forbidden jutsu." Sasuke explained.

"No one was able to use it though." Tsunade cut in. "The Uchiha clan didn't have the charka to use it and if someone in the clan tried to attempt it, they would die from charka depletion. Only one clan that had the chance to use this jutsu was the Haruno clan. Well more precisely, the only person who was able to use it was Kiyoko. It seems everything the Haruno clan thought they lost appeared in Sakura. It's without a doubt that she has perfect chakra control, so did her grandmother. Those two are so alike in beauty and strength. It's no wonder she was able to have the clan's jutsu dormant in her. If anyone else was to find out about Sakura's powers, we will be facing more problems in the future."

"What about Kameko?" Sai asked.

"She ran away with Kabuto." Sasuke growled.

"We have to keep an eye on them in the future. For now, we have to find a way to help Sakura. That's why I sent Gaara to have people go to the Snow Village to find if there were any cures."

"Hokage-sama…" Sasuke said with such politeness and respect no one had ever heard from his mouth. "Please, allow my team to go to Snow. Let me do this for Sakura."

"But Sakur-"

"PLEASE!" Sasuke said as he fell on his knees and bowed to her. "Please, I beg of you. Allow me this mission. Please…"

"It will take you at least a week to get there. So I'll give you three weeks max to find a cure and back." Tsunade said tossing a scroll to Sasuke. "Karin, your team is ready to go."

"What?" Sasuke said confused.

"No one would believe me if I said the Sasuke Uchiha actually bowed to me in concerns of Sakura." Tsunade pointed to her sake bottle to reveal a hidden camera. "It was your teammates' ideas."

Sasuke have a death glare to Naruto and Sai who pointed to Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo.

"Hey, Sakura needed to believe that you came back on your free will for her." Suigetsu grinned. Sasuke growled as he punched Suigetsu hard in the head. He turned into water as Sasuke stormed out of the room.

"Heh, he's embarrassed." Neji commented. Naruto just grinned as he stared at Sakura who was in Shikamaru's arms. His expression became serious.

'_I'll do whatever it takes to make you get better. I won't give up. Believe it.'_

_-_

_-_

_-_

_-_

_-_

**Poor Naruto and Sakura! Kameko didn't die like most of you guys wanted, but at least Sakura was okay. We got to learn more about Kameko and Kiyoko. I wonder if you guys got the hints i left in this chapter haha. Anyways, please wait until my next update. Don't forget to leave reviews. Thanks for reading.  
**

**-Kumiko  
**


	34. Chapter 34

**KUMIKO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I know! I know. I haven't updated in a while. I am not dead! I've just been so busy and had to deal with stupid stuff. My parents are divorcing, stupid problem with friends, doing things for SJSU, and I've got a job at Andersen Bakery! So those have been taking my time from writing. But yeah, I finally updated this story. So I hope you guys enjoy it. Please review afterwards.**

**Last Time on Gomenasai….**

_"It will take you at least a week to get there. So I'll give you three weeks max to find a cure and back." Tsunade said tossing a scroll to Sasuke. "Karin, your team is ready to go."_

_"What?" Sasuke said confused._

_"No one would believe me if I said the Sasuke Uchiha actually bowed to me in concerns of Sakura." Tsunade pointed to her sake bottle to reveal a hidden camera. "It was your teammates' ideas."_

_Sasuke have a death glare to Naruto and Sai who pointed to Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo._

_"Hey, Sakura needed to believe that you came back on your free will for her." Suigetsu grinned. Sasuke growled as he punched Suigetsu hard in the head. He turned into water as Sasuke stormed out of the room._

_"Heh, he's embarrassed." Neji commented. Naruto just grinned as he stared at Sakura who was in Shikamaru's arms. His expression became serious._

'I'll do whatever it takes to make you get better. I won't give up. Believe it.'

**XxXxXxXxXx**

White.

Everything was white.

Sakura looked around her surroundings until she saw someone with spiky blond hair.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out as she ran towards him. Naruto turned around as he grinned at her. He raised his hand and waved at her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled. The smile dropped from his face as he put a hand over his stomach. He fell to his knees and screamed in pain. Sakura watched hopelessly as a red bubbly coat of chakra formed around the person in front of her. Her eyes widened as she saw a woman with long ivory hair and piercing purple eyes appear behind Naruto as she struck her hand through Naruto's chest and pulled it back out. The woman soon brought her bloody finger to her lips, as if signaling her to not say anything.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed.

Sakura woke up to see Naruto hovering over her with a worried look on his face.

"N-Naruto?" Sakura said with a blush on her face. "Where's Kameko?"

"What are you talking about Sakura-chan? We're at the hospital. Kameko escaped."

Sakura took a deep breath as she looked around her surroundings. Naruto watched her intensely as he realized that Sakura's memories had probably switched again.

"Sakura-chan, stay put. I'll call Tsunade-sama!" Naruto announced as he ran out of the room. Sakura watched him disappear from sight as she ran a hand through her pink locks. Just what was that dream about?

_What a horrible dream…_

"-ra"

_I'm scared…_

"-kura"

_What was that all about?_

"Sakura"

_Is it trying to tell me something?_

"Sakura-chan!" Sakura was out of her thoughts as she saw hazel eyes staring at her worriedly.

"Tsunade-sama…" Sakura said slowly.

"It's her other self…" Sakura heard Tsunade say to Shizune who wrote down something on her clipboard.

"How are you feeling, Sakura?" Tsunade asked her.

Sakura wasn't able to say anything at first. As she just continued to think back about the dream.

"Did you see something?" Shizune asked.

Sakura bit her lower lip. Should she say something about it?

"Shizune, leave us!" Tsunade said out of nowhere, causing both Sakura and Shizune to jump.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune tilted her head confused. As soon as she saw her master's expression, she understood. The moment Shizune left the room Tsunade came and sat down on Sakura's bed.

"Do you want to talk about?" Tsunade asked in a motherly voice as she rubbed Sakura's back. Tsunade watched as Sakura bit her lower lip trying to stop herself from crying.

"I-I saw Naruto-san die." Sakura said as she spaced off. "It was Kameko who did it."

"You're probably still traumatized about what happened. Naruto will be fine. Don't think about it." Tsunade said as she brushed some bangs away from Sakura's face.

"B-But the chances of-"

"The chances of Kameko harming Naruto are very slim. You want to know why?" Tsunade smiled. Sakura nodded her head. "It's because Naruto has you to protect him. You love him with all your heart, don't you?"

"Of course, I do." Sakura said, looking at Tsunade in shock for even asking that question.

"Then believe in him and continue loving him no matter what." Tsunade said as she pressed her lips on Sakura' forehead motherly.

**XxXxXxXxX**

"WHAT THE HELL!" Kameko screamed as all the flames in the torches was put out.

"Kameko-sama, I'm terribly sorry." Kabuto said as he kneeled down in front of the mirror. He didn't dare to look up at her.

"You're sorry?" Kameko said in a tone that sent chills down his spine. "You're sorry? I had my hands on that Angel's tears and it was taken away from me!" She screamed.

"Forgive me, Kameko-sama. It won't happen again!" Kabuto said.

"You're right. It won't. I'll be going to get the Angel's tears myself!" Kameko said.

"What?" Kabuto said looking up in shock. But it was too late. Kameko had disappeared from the mirror.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"In celebration of Forehead-girl leaving the hospital!" Ino cheered as she raised her cup up. The whole gang met at the Korean BBQ that Shikamaru's team was known to go to.

"T-Thank you everyone!" Sakura said as her cheeks colored.

"D-Don't be shy Sakura-chan!" Hinata said. "It's your party!"

"Forreal! Go and have fun!" Kiba said as he rested his hand on the top of Sakura's head before ruffling her hair. He grinned before sitting next to his girlfriend.

"Where's Naruto and Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

Hinata and Kiba looked at each other before thinking about what to say.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Onyx eyes met with blue eyes.

"So I guess you'll be leaving now." Naruto said as his hands were by his side.

"Ah." Sasuke said as he looked back at his team that was waiting for the mission to start.

"You better find something. Anything that can help Sakura-chan, Teme." Naruto said.

"I know that, dobe." Sasuke said as he turned his back to Naruto. "I'll be back soon, so you better take good care of her for the both of us. She better still be alive when I come back."

"Believe it!" Naruto smiled as Sasuke looked back and smirked.

"Enough with this bromance! Let's go!" Karin said. She soon stopped and confronted Naruto. "Give this to her." Karin had handed a pure white bracelet to Naruto.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"This can tell me Sakura's condition while we're away." Karin raised her wrist to show that she was wearing one too. "It changes colors telling me how she is."

"It's pure white right now." Juugo commented as he examined the jewelry in Naruto's palm.

"Signaling that she's okay." Karin smiled. "If it was to turn black, then that means…." Karin's smile disappeared as she didn't finish her sentence.

"I see." Naruto said. "Come back with the cure as fast as you can."

"You got it Naruto!" Suigetsu grinned as he and Karin began to walk away from the gate. Juugo began to follow after the couple.

"See you soon, teme!" Naruto smiled as he put his fist out. Sasuke closed his eyes and smirked as the two pounded fists.

"See you soon, dobe!" Sasuke said. With that, Sasuke's team was gone.

**XxXxXxXxX**

The gang was still having the party as Naruto walked in.

"Hey, look who made it!" Shikamaru grinned at Naruto who grinned back.

"Sorry for being late. Things came up!" Naruto said. "Where's Sakura-chan?"

"Eh…" Shikamaru began to say as he pointed to the pink haired girl having a drinking contest with Tsunade and Kiba.

"YOSH! That's the spirit Sakura-san!" Lee cheered as he went to take a shot. A hand slapped his as he looked up to see Tenten glaring at him.

"What did I say about drinking?" Tenten growled.

"We don't want you to break the restaurant down! And when you're drunk, no one can control you." Neji said taking a shot. Lee pouted.

"Hah! You guys think you can beat me?" Tsunade smirked. "I'm famous for my outrageous drinking!"

"Hell yeah grandma! Sakura and I will beat you!" Kiba said after he hiccupped. He soon put an arm around Sakura's shoulders. Sakura looked so lost.

"K-Kiba-kun!" Hinata said worriedly. "H-Hokage-sama, I don't think Sakura-chan should be drinking."

"Nonsense! Sake is good!" Tsunade said. "Let's kick some ASS!"

"She's gone." Everyone muttered under their breath.

Naruto sweat dropped as Kiba poured Sakura a shot. As he sighed, he went up and took the shot glass from the poor girl and took the shot.

"None for you." Naruto said as he swept Sakura in his arms.

"N-Naruto…" Sakura said as she stared into his eyes. She soon remembered what they did as she blushed. Sakura soon felt something go over her wrist. She looked down to see clear beads. "What's this?"

"Karin gave it to me. It's a gift for you." Naruto smiled.

"Karin-chan? Where is she?" Sakura asked as she tilted her head. Naruto looked over at Tsunade for help.

"She's on a mission with Suigetsu and Juugo." Some of the people in the room were confused about why Tsunade never mentioned Sasuke. People then turned to Sakura to see her reaction.

"I wish I was able to tell her thanks." Sakura said with a smile.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto stared out of Sakura's window to see the bright moon against the dark sky. Sakura had already fallen asleep in her bedroom a few hours ago, saying she was really worn out from today's events. Naruto's blue eyes soon flickered to couple of trees across the house. There was somebody there! Naruto opened the window and jumped down.

"Hey!" Naruto called out. The silhouette of the person didn't move. "Who are you?" Naruto asked. This time the figure did move, knocking Naruto to the ground and into Sakura's apartment and locking the window as well. Soon screaming was heard coming from Sakura's room. Naruto could see black and red light coming from her window.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto called out. He ran all the way to the front door but it wouldn't open. He soon had to break down the door. "SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted as he made it to her room. There seemed to have been a barrier. Naruto was freaking out due to Sakura's screaming. Naruto tried to break the barrier down but failed.

"What's going on?" Naruto turned around to see Itachi at the front door.

"There's a barrier! Sakura-chan is in trouble!" Naruto said as he tried to break down the door again.

"Move aside Naruto-kun." Itachi said. Naruto watched through Sakura's screams as Itachi formed a jutsu and actually broke down the barrier. Naruto kicked the door as the two were in for a surprise. A woman with long white hair hovered in front of Sakura. Her purple eyes were glowing with malice. Naruto froze in fear.

"Kame-ko…" Naruto struggled to say. In front of him was Jiraiya's killer and who tried to kill Sakura. Now she was here to finish the job. Kameko didn't respond to him as she placed her fingers on Sakura's throat. Sakura began to gasp for air as Kameko lifted her up in the air.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Naruto growled as he tackled Kameko to the ground. Itachi went and grabbed Sakura and tried to calm her down.

"Tch. Annoying child!" Kameko said as she threw Naruto to the other side of the room.

Itachi glared at Kameko as Sakura continued to scream in his arms. "What did you do to her?" Itachi demanded to know. He set Sakura down as he stood up to face Kameko. Naruto slowly got up as well.

"I'm doing her a favor!" Kameko said with a smirk as she began to float up. Itachi and Naruto both went to grab her but she quickly jumped out of Sakura's window as the glass broke.

"Damn her!" Naruto said. He soon went to Sakura to the fingerprints Kameko left on her neck glow. "What did she do to you, Sakura-chan…?" Naruto asked as Sakura had finally stopped screaming. Sakura slowly opened her eyes as tears flowed out like rivers.

"I need to report this to Tsunade-sama. Bring her over to the hospital to have her checked." Itachi said. "For Kameko to come here all by herself just for Sakura means that she's being serious. Who knows what she has done to her?"

"I understand." Naruto said as he lifted Sakura in his arms and left for the hospital. When he got there he saw Shizune and Ino in the hallway.

"Shizune! Ino! Help Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. Ino's eyes widened with fear and shock as Shizune ordered the nurses to get a stretcher.

"Who did this to her?" Ino growled.

"Kameko." Naruto said as Shizune had taken Sakura from him and rushed her to ER the moment she heard Kameko's name from his mouth.

"That bitch!" Ino clenched her fists. "When will she stop?"

"She'll stop once she has the Angel of Tears." The two blonds turned to see Tsunade and Itachi entering the hospital.

"Tsunade-baachan. Itachi." Naruto acknowledged them.

"How is she?" Itachi asked.

Ino shook her head. "Shizune just took her to the ER."

"Ino, come with me!" Tsunade ordered as they went to the room Sakura was being treated in.

"Shizune! How is her condition?" Tsunade asked as she entered. She was surprised to see Sakura strapped in the bed. She was screaming as her fists were bleeding due to her nails piercing her skin.

"Not so well. She's not letting me heal her. There's a mark on her neck that's causing pain, but most of her pain is coming from her mind. Kameko must have done something to her." Shizune said.

"Mind is my specialty. Maybe I can do something!" Ino offered.

Shizune looked at Tsunade who nodded. "It's worth a shot."

Ino walked up to Sakura who was struggling with the restraints. Ino bit her lower lip before resting her fingers on Sakura's temples.

"Let me end your suffering." Ino whispered as she closed her eyes. Tsunade and Shizune watched as Sakura had suddenly calm down and stood still. After a couple of minutes, none of the young girls moved. Tsunade was beginning to get worried.

"Ino?" Tsunade called out. A large gasp was heard from Sakura then from Ino who soon fell to the floor.

"Ino-san! What happened?" Shizune asked. Ino tried to catch her breath as she put a hand over her chest.

"She…She was in so much pain. More pain than we realized! S-She's remembering everything." Ino said.

"Everything?" Shizune questioned.

Ino nodded her head. "Kameko must have known the side effects of when Sakura remembers someone. She forced Sakura to remember everything. I was able to close only the most painful one. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You did all that you could." Shizune reassured her as she placed a hand on Ino's shoulder. "We just have to let Sakura deal with the problem herself now."

Ino frowned as she looked at her best friend resting.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

It had been a whole as Sasuke's group had finally reached the Snow Village. Everyone was weary from traveling. Luckily, Tsunade was able to ask Kazahana Koyuki to find them a place to stay.

"It's nice to see you again Sasuke-san. I was surprised when I heard you turned sour a few years back." Koyuki said.

"Where is the Haruno shrine?" Sasuke bluntly asked. He didn't have time to relax and talk. Sakura's health was deteriorating by the second.

"Haruno shrine?" Koyuki's eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"Do you remember my old teammate, Sakura?" Sasuke asked as pulled out a scroll.

"The pink-haired one, right?" Sasuke nodded.

"She's the last known Haruno with the Angel of Tears." Sasuke said. "Her life is in danger. We have to find anything that can help us deal with this."

Koyuki bit her lower lip before sighing. Looking around to make sure no one else was here, she led the group to the other side of the village.

"Why are we in front of a waterfall?" Karin asked as she fixed her glasses.

"When I was little, my father would take me walking around the country and tell me stories about the famous Haruno clan. Their clan was a secretive but friendly one. They loved their privacy, so they made their home behind the waterfall. Follow me and watch your step."

"Watch our step for what?" Suigetsu asked. He soon felt himself fall but Juugo quickly caught him. Suigetsu took a good look to see floating platforms that led to the other side. Koyuki, Karin, and Sasuke were already close to the other side.

When they made it to the other side, Karin was surprised to see a large lake. There was a small glow emitting from underwater on the other side of the lake, but Karin didn't mention anything about it. She just found it out. She saw her team passing by buildings that seemed to be old. No one seemed to have lived here in decades. The group finally made it to a large shrine with large gold double doors.

"This is the shrine that belonged to the Famous Priestess Kiyoko." Koyuki explained.

"Kiyoko? Wasn't that the name of the village leader we went to?" Suigetsu asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"She talked about being reborn." Karin remembered. "What was that about?"

"I have no information about that. My father never finished telling me the tales of the Haruno clan. Nothing was documented except for this battle. Have you heard of the battle between Priestess Kiyoko and the wicked Kameko?" Koyuki asked.

"Kameko!" Sasuke growled. "She's the one after Sakura!"

"That's not possible!" Koyuki said shocked. She entered the shrine and came out with the book. "This was written by the sister of Kiyoko." She handed the book to Sasuke who quickly zoomed through it.

"This Kiyoko sealed Kameko away in a mirror and took away her powers to control the element. She sealed each element into different objects." Sasuke summarized. Koyuki nodded.

"She sealed the earth and heaven element in her. Before she died, her sister Kaede sealed back the elements in the two scrolls and hid them." Koyuki concluded.

"What are you doing here?" Everyone froze and looked behind them to see no other than…

"Sakura's grandmother!" Karin exclaimed.

Koyuki took in the old lady's appearance. She noticed the hint of pink in that fluffy white hair and nothing stood out more than her emerald green eyes.

"Kaede-sama…" Koyuki whispered as she bowed down.

"There's no need to bow to me. The Haruno clan doesn't exist anymore." Kaede said as she signaled Koyuki to rise. "May I ask what you are doing here? From what I remember, I prohibited anyone from entering here before I left this country."

"We're trying to find a cure for Sakura, your granddaughter." Sasuke said.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Kaede said as she narrowed her eyes. "What happened to her?"

"Kameko was revived. She's after the Angel's tears." Sasuke stated. Kaede's expression grew cold.

"That's not possible! My sister sealed her away many years ago." Kaede growled.

"Didn't the Akatsuki steal a scroll from Konoha and gave it to a mysterious man?" Suigetsu asked.

"They must have given a revival scroll to Kabuto!" Karin concluded.

"But what are you doing here?" Kaede asked.

"We went to a village that had a leader named Kiyoko. She said she was the priestess that defeated Kameko." Juugo explained. "But she was only 12 years ago. She told us that the only way to save Sakura-san was to get Inner Sakura. Since Kiyoko and the Haruno clan originated from Snow, we thought we could find something to help us understand your bloodline and the other self inside the female members of the clan."

"So she did do it…" Kaede muttered, but Sasuke's trained ears picked it up.

"Who is she?" Sasuke asked. "Who else was involved with this? Did you know that your sister was reborn? How was she reborn?"

"You're asking more than you can handle, you brat!" Kaede snapped. "The Haruno clan and this is place is more complicated than you think. To be honest with you, there's no cure!"

"No cure?" Karin's eyes widened. An image of Sakura smiling entered her mind as it shattered. "There has to be a way to save Sakura! Your sister said so herself! She said Inner Sakura is our last hope. We must find a way to teleport ourselves into her mind once again. The inner self might know how to save Sakura."

"Did she say anything else?" Kaede asked.

Karin nodded. "She said if worse comes to worse, that I should give Tsunade this scroll." Karin pulled out a tiny scroll from her backpack as Kaede frowned.

"So this is what she thinks is the last resort." Kaede said as she took the scroll. "Koyuki-sama, please bring the boys to a nice room in your palace. I'd like to talk to this girl for a while."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He didn't like this old lady at the moment. "Anything you can say to Karin, you can say to us." Suigetsu looked at Karin worried but Karin signaled them away.

"It's okay. Just go, you guys. I'll catch up with you later." Karin said as she turned and walked away from the group with Kaede.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Gaara frowned as he watched his closest friend interact with Sakura in front of him. The three of them were at Sakura's house as Kankuro went to talk to Tsunade. It had been two days since her release from the hospital. Tsunade specifically asked him to watch over Sakura during his stay in Konoha.

"Sakura-chan, can you hear me?" Naruto asked. Sakura didn't say anything but look outside the window. Sakura was currently on the piano as Naruto was on the couch.

"Naruto, let me talk to her." Gaara said.

"But-"

"Trust me!" Gaara said. Naruto frowned but listened and left the house. The moment Naruto closed the door, Gaara let his frustration out.

"What's wrong with you?" Gaara asked. "Naruto's worried sick about you but here you are acting like he's a piece of trash!" Gaara was about to say more but noticed that Sakura was crying. She was trying to hold it in but she was failing miserably.

"I-I don't know how to face him anymore! I feel like I've been hurt by him. There's this pain in my chest that just won't go away. I don't know what he did, but I feel like I shouldn't face or talk to him." Sakura confessed.

Gaara sighed as he sat on the couch. "Why won't you just be honest to him? Why are you pushing him away?"

Sakura's cries turned to small hiccups.

"I know I'm dying…" Sakura bluntly said. Gaara's eyes widened as he stared at Sakura not sure what to say.

"Excuse me?" Gaara said slowly.

"I can feel it. I can see her face. She's tormenting me, even now!" Sakura said as she covered her ears and closed her eyes. "She's waiting for me!"

"Waiting for what?" Gaara asked. He wasn't sure who Sakura was talking about it.

"She's waiting for me to come to her and offer her my bloodline."

"Who's she?" Gaara asked.

"Kameko-sama…" Sakura whispered in a frightened tone. "She'll take anyone I'm close to, like Naruto. I need to protect him from her….from me. He can't be near me anymore. She'll hurt him. She'll get what she wants out of him and then kill him. She's very valuable to him." Sakura soon let out a deranged giggle as she played a soft melody on the piano. "You want to know why?"

Gaara couldn't speak. He just waited for Sakura to speak. Sakura continued to play as she turned to face Gaara. "Well, do you?"

Slowly he nodded. The melody on the piano began to get sharp and intense. Soon it stopped. "Kameko-sama is looking for her elements. There's fire, water, earth, air, and void or heaven to be more exact."

"What does that have to do with Naruto?" Gaara couldn't comprehend what Sakura was trying to tell him.

"The fire element was sealed inside of the nine-tail fox, the one that's inside Naruto. Kameko will be after him as well." Sakura said as she began to play a soft melody on the piano again.

**Yes. Our dear Sakura is losing it. It is the effects of what Kameko did to Sakura that night. If you guys are confused, don't worry it will all clear up in the end. I wonder what Kaede is going to tell Karin. And just what was in the scroll that Kiyoko had given her? The final battle with Kameko is coming soon. But just who is going to fight her? Find out next time on Gomenasai….**

**Love Kumiko**


	35. Chapter 35

**As you guys can probably tell, this story is slowly coming to an end. So let's carry on with the story, shall we?**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_Kameko-sama…" Sakura whispered in a frightened tone. "She'll take anyone I'm close to, like Naruto. I need to protect him from her….from me. He can't be near me anymore. She'll hurt him. She'll get what she wants out of him and then kill him. She's very valuable to him." Sakura soon let out a deranged giggle as she played a soft melody on the piano. "You want to know why?" _

_Gaara couldn't speak. He just waited for Sakura to speak. Sakura continued to play as she turned to face Gaara. "Well, do you?"_

_Slowly he nodded. The melody on the piano began to get sharp and intense. Soon it stopped. "Kameko-sama is looking for her elements. There's fire, water, earth, air, and void or heaven to be more exact."_

"_What does that have to do with Naruto?" Gaara couldn't comprehend what Sakura was trying to tell him._

"_The fire element was sealed inside of the nine-tail fox, the one that's inside Naruto. Kameko will be after him as well." Sakura said as she began to play a soft melody on the piano again._

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Tsunade sighed as she began to drink the night away in her room. Sakura had just left her room a couple minutes ago with Gaara escorting her. Sakura came up with a plan to protect Naruto and weaken Kameko's powers, but would it really work? Blah! This whole thing was madness. Sakura should be the one worrying about her deteriorating health, and yet here she is putting others above herself again. She just needed to get the sealing room ready.

On the other side of Konoha, Sakura and Gaara were walking back to her apartment.

"Are you sure about this Sakura?" Gaara asked. He had never seen Sakura so determined. Earlier before, she had gone insane.

"Don't try to stop me!" Sakura said as they finally made it to her house.

"If Naruto heard about your plan, he would be upset." Gaara said. "You don't even know the risks of this jutsu. You're weak to begin with!"

"Well, I'm not going to stand here and do nothing while Kameko is trying to kill me and Naruto!" Sakura said as she stomped her foot. Her apartment shook from the impact but nothing was destroyed.

"Whoa!" Naruto said coming out of his guest room. "What was that?"

"Naruto…" Sakura said as she walked up to him and planted her lips on his. Naruto's eyes widen in shock. When was Sakura this bold? Before he knew it, he was getting tired. "…I'm sorry." Was the last thing he heard before darkness over took him. Gaara quickly caught him as they rushed back to the area they were supposed to meet Tsunade at.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura took a deep breath as Naruto was placed in front of her. He was still knocked out from her sneaky chakra attack. She had sent chakra through her mouth to his nervous system to knock him out.

"Sakura, are you sure you want to go through with this? You can still stop it." Tsunade asked Sakura as she placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura nodded as Tsunade sighed. There was no stopping Sakura. She was a stubborn child.

"Tsunade-sama…" Gaara began to say as the two walked out. "Is Sakura capable of performing the jutsu?"

"I know you're worried. I am too. But Sakura's been studying the scrolls since she found them in secret. She wants to be useful to the village, to Naruto, to herself…" Tsunade said.

"But she is useful! If it wasn't for her, my brother and I would have died!" Gaara said.

"How do you think you would feel when you thought you didn't have any special ninja powers? What if you thought you were just a normal kid with no demonic powers or came from a noble clan? What if you thought that you were weak and a burden to your team?" Tsunade asked.

"Well that's what a sensei was supposed to do!" Gaara said. He didn't want to be lectured by anyone at the moment. "A sensei is supposed to make sure his student wouldn't be left behind. And from what I heard, Sakura left her first sensei because he didn't give a shit about her!"

"That's not true!" A voice growled. The two kages looked to see Kakashi glaring at Gaara. "Take what you said back!"

"Why should I?" Gaara said sending Kakashi his own glare. "It's true wasn't it? You left Sakura behind as you went and played favorites. You didn't give her any attention and let her fall behind to where she had to go and find a new sensei. I was disgusted to see how much pain she was in. When you went back into ANBU and Naruto and Sasuke left the village, Sakura was sent to a two week mission in Suna where she would cry her heart out to me and my siblings every night."

"I didn't want her to get hurt!" Kakashi defended himself. "Sakura is like a little sister to me! I didn't want anything to harm her. Her whole team felt that way. We were like the older brothers that would protect her from anything."

"You didn't give her a chance to prove herself…" Tsunade soon said. Kakashi's eyes widened at his Hokage. The Hokage was siding with Gaara? "Sakura was a powerful girl to begin with. You just need to be patient with her. We could have found out about her clan's powers sooner and prevented all this from happening."

Kakashi opened his mouth to say something but couldn't. What would have happened if he trained Sakura more?

"Why are you here anyways?" Tsunade asked.

"I could be asking you the same thing?" Kakashi said bitterly.

"He came here because I felt Naruto go into three-tails!" Yamato said as he came up to the group with Sai.

"What's going on?" Sai asked.

"Tsk!" Tsunade said. "Kameko is going after her lost powers. Supposedly Kiyoko sealed the fire element within the Kyuubi. Sakura…Sakura is trying to remove the kyuubi from Naruto and place it in the scroll it was once in."

"That's madness!" Yamato said. "Sakura isn't in a condition to be doing these types of stuff!"

"She knows she's dying." Tsunade said with tears in her eyes. "She doesn't want to go down without a fight. It seems like when Kameko attacked Sakura that night, she forced Sakura to remember almost everything. Ino was able to block away a few memories."

Soon a full blast of energy exploded out the room where Naruto and Sakura were in.

"SAKURA!" Gaara yelled as he opened the door.

Facing them was no other than the Kyuubi with five tails out.

"**GET AWAY!"** Sakura yelled back. Her hair was darker as well as her eyes. The word inner was shown on her forehead.

"Inner Sakura…" Tsunade said.

"**Close the door and get out of her. I don't want to seal your souls as well!"** Inner Sakura said. Naruto let out a demon like cry as he tried blasting Sakura with attacks. Inner Sakura had put up a barrier around him as his attacks were sent back to him.

The others soon left the room as Sai stood back a bit. Sakura didn't have any scrolls around her. So how was she going to-? Sai's eyes widened. Sakura was trying to seal the Kyuubi in herself!

"Ugly, you idiot!" Sai said as he closed the door behind him and locked it.

"SAI! What are you doing?" Tsunade called out from the other side of the door. Sai quickly put up a chakra barrier.

"Helping my friends!" Sai said as he quickly ran to Sakura's aid.

"**Sai. Why are you still here?"** Inner Sakura asked.

"I'm not going to let you die like that. Seal the Kyuubi in this scroll!" Sai said. "I stole it from the Root Headquarters. It was going to be used to seal up Kameko but you can do the same to the Kyuubi."

"**Why go so far?"** Inner Sakura asked.

"Because you two are my friends. And friends help friends no matter what, according to what the book said." Sai said. "Besides, if you died now, everyone would be sad, including me."

Inner Sakura smirked. **"Remind me to continue to teach you emotions if I make it out of this alive."**

Inner Sakura closed her eyes as she began to float in the air. Her eyes glowed white as she soon made hand signs. **"Cho Bai Sa Tou Do Kai!"** Inner Sakura shouted as a large white ball formed in front of her and flew down to Naruto. He began to scream in pain as the Kyuubi's chakra was sealed inside. After a couple of minutes, Naruto had fainted as Sakura fell on her knees. She started to cough up a large amount of blood. But she wasn't done yet. With the last amount of energy she had left, she whisked the ball towards the scroll Sai had prepared as she finished the seal. Sai quickly closed the seal as he watched Sakura collapse as well. Her dark pink hair went back to its normal color as the sign Inner on her forehead faded away.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura woke up in tears. She had remembered everything. Looking around she found herself in the hospital. To be honest, she wasn't surprised to see no other than Kameko in front of her.

"Took you long enough. You did me a favor of removing the Kyuubi for me." Kameko smiled.

"Leave Naruto alone. He doesn't have the fire element anymore. There's no need for you to hurt him or anyone in Konoha now!" Sakura growled.

"Oh, but there is." Kameko smirked as she walked up to Sakura and cupped her face. "You still have the Angel's tears. Give it to me."

"Never." Sakura said as she slapped her hand away. This only made Kameko's smirk widen.

"I guess you wouldn't mind me taking the Hokage then!" Kameko said as Kabuto came behind her with an unconscious Tsunade in his arms.

"Shishou! What do you want from her? She has nothing to offer!" Sakura screamed.

"I still need to get my revenge on her for beating me in the jounin exams many years ago." Kameko said. "If you want your beloved Hokage back, meet me at your old team's training grounds by yourself. I will take the Angel's tears from you once I rip your body to pieces." She said with malice.

Sakura could only watch uselessly as Tsunade was taken from her. Damn it.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"The Hokage was taken?" Gai said shocked. Everyone in the room was clearly pissed off. Shizune was crying in the corner as Genma was trying to comfort her. Sakura had called all the adults that were close to Tsunade.

"She wants me to go and try to get her back." Sakura said.

"That's just stupid!" Anko said with her arms crossed. "Sending you there alone is what she wants!"

"Anko, the Hokage's life is more important than mine." Sakura said looking at the ground.

"But if that Kameko person gets a hold of you, not only would you die, so would thousands of people." Kakashi said.

"I don't care. I'm going after her whether you like it or not!" Sakura said.

"Allow us to go with you then." A voice said. Sakura looked to see Lee, Neji, and Shikamaru at the window.

"You guys…" Sakura said.

"Kurenai wanted me to take her place in the meeting and I just happened to bump into Neji and Le on the way. This time, we'll make sure everyone comes back!" Shikamaru said.

"I won't allow any mistakes like last time!" Neji said with a smirk.

"That's my ninja way!" Lee smiled.

Sakura practically flew herself on to them. "I love you guys! Thank you…"

"Please be careful." Shizune said as she gave Sakura a hug. "I can't afford to lose you as well." Sakura returned the hug as she nodded.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Karin woke up as she felt something warm on her wrist. Looking down, she saw the once clear beads turn red. She immediately went to Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Karin cried out.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes as well as the others. "What's wrong?"

"Sakura!" Karin said. "Something's wrong. The beads aren't clear."

"We have to go back!" Suigetsu said worriedly.

The beads soon turned back to a clear color. Karin looked at it confused.

"Why did it go back?" Karin asked out loud.

"Maybe she was healed." Juugo said.

"Team, we're heading back!" Sasuke said. He didn't like the feeling he was getting.

"What about the cure?" Suigetsu asked. Karin bit her lower lip as she headed to her stuff to pack it up.

"Karin, you're actually going to leave without the cure?" Juugo asked. He noticed that Karin was shaking.

"What happened?" Suigetsu asked her as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"There's no cure!" Karin cried. "We came all this way for nothing."

"But Kiyoko from the other village said-"

"She lied!" Karin growled. "Inner Sakura can only hold the Angel's tears. She can't do anything else."

"Bull-shit!" Sasuke said as he punched the wall. He soon ran out of the room.

"Sasuke!" Karin called out to chase after him but Suigetsu held her back. "Give him some time."

"How much time? Sakura doesn't have time!" Karin said with the stomp of her foot. Her eyes widened as she turned red with embarrassment with her outburst. "I-I'm sorry, Sui. I just…"

Suigetsu sighed as he pulled Karin close to his chest. "I know Karin. She's important to all of us. There has to be a way. We just have to find one. We can't give up."

After a couple minutes, Sasuke came back with Kaede. "We're leaving the moment the sun rises. We will not waste time heading back to Konoha."

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Kameko smirked as she sensed Sakura heading towards the meeting spot.

"So you finally came." Kameko greeted as she flew down towards Sakura and gave her a peck on the cheek. Sakura grew angrily knowing that Kameko was mocking her at the moment.

"Where's Tsunade?" Sakura asked as she pushed Kameko away from her.

"Where's your manners young lady? You have to learn how to respect your elders." Kameko said.

"STOP FUCKING AROUND WITH ME!" Sakura said as she punched Kameko in the face. Kameko flipped in the air as she crashed into the tree.

"That wasn't very nice, Sakura-chan." Kameko said as she snapped her fingers. Kabuto soon appeared with a tied up Tsunade.

"Why did you come? You know what they want!" Tsunade said but Kabuto held her in place.

"Kabuto-kun, why don't you go and dispose of our unwelcomed guests…" Kameko's purple eyes lingered on the trees behind Sakura.

"It would be my pleasure." Kabuto said as he flew towards where the boys were hiding at.

"Shikamaru! Neji! Lee!" Sakura called out. The boys immediately took off right before Kabuto could attack with his chakra scalpel. Kameko narrowed her eyes as she went to attack Tsunade.

"NO!" Sakura screamed.

Tsunade only closed her eyes waiting for the pain that never happened. Tsunade opened her eyes to see that her shadow was connected to no other than Shikamaru. Neji took this chance to take the Hokage away from safety. Lee was dodging Kabuto's attacks.

"It's just me and you, Kameko!" Sakura snarled as she closed her eyes. Her green eyes turned lighter as well as her pink hair. Wings began to sprout from her back like nothing. Kameko narrowed her eyes but smirked. She was going to fight an angel but no angel could stand against a god like her.

"Sounds good to me!" Kameko said. "To make sure no one interferes…" Kameko raised her right hand to the sky as a beam of light shot out. It soon had a fountain affect as her and Sakura were trapped in a barrier. Sakura tested the barrier. It shocked her immediately.

"No more messing around, I will take back my elements right after I take the Angel's tears from you." Kameko soon laughed evilly as Sakura glared at her. Looking back, she could see Shikamaru and Neji looking at her worriedly.

"I'll be fine." Sakura said to them. Tsunade stood by Neji shocked. "Bring her to safety. Please."

"No! Sakura!" Shikamaru said as he tried to enter the barrier. It shocked him as he fell back.

"Tell Naruto and the others I'm sorry. Don't interfere. Just take care of Tsunade and Kabuto for now." Sakura said as she turned her back on the others to face Kameko.

"_It's your turn to watch my back!"_

**Short, I know! But that's all I could think of. The battle everyone's been waiting for is about to come. What will be the outcome of the destined battle? Find out next time! **

-Kumiko


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since my last update. I just got back from the Philippines a few days ago and had been suffering from jetlag. But just for the heads up, my updates will be slower due to the fact that college is coming up next week. But I will update as much as I can. Thank you for reading so far. Hopefully you'll like this chapter.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

"_It's just me and you, Kameko!" Sakura snarled as she closed her eyes. Her green eyes turned lighter as well as her pink hair. Wings began to sprout from her back like nothing. Kameko narrowed her eyes but smirked. She was going to fight an angel but no angel could stand against a god like her._

"_Sounds good to me!" Kameko said. "To make sure no one interferes…" Kameko raised her right hand to the sky as a beam of light shot out. It soon had a fountain affect as her and Sakura were trapped in a barrier. Sakura tested the barrier. It shocked her immediately._

"_No more messing around, I will take back my elements right after I take the Angel's tears from you." Kameko soon laughed evilly as Sakura glared at her. Looking back, she could see Shikamaru and Neji looking at her worriedly._

"_I'll be fine." Sakura said to them. Tsunade stood by Neji shocked. "Bring her to safety. Please."_

"_No! Sakura!" Shikamaru said as he tried to enter the barrier. It shocked him as he fell back._

"_Tell Naruto and the others I'm sorry. Don't interfere. Just take care of Tsunade and Kabuto for now." Sakura said as she turned her back on the others to face Kameko._

"It's your turn to watch my back!"

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Tsunade watched helplessly on the sidelines as her precious student was fighting against Kameko.

"Get her out of there! She doesn't know the risks she's facing!" Tsunade ordered Neji. Shikamaru continued to bang on the barrier not caring if his fists were burning.

"SAKURA!" Shikamaru called out. Sakura didn't make any reaction to signal them that she heard him at all. "Damn it."

Sakura closed her eyes as she tried to tune out Shikamaru's voice.

"You can make this easier and just give up Sakura-chan." Kameko said as she began to walk around Sakura who just frowned.

"Why are you so determined to get my bloodline? What will that do for you? You already have the power to control all elements. What more do you need?" Sakura asked.

"What do I need? I need the world! I want to be the most powerful being ever to conquer all the countries. With your power, I will be able to have everyone obey me…to fear me!" Kameko said.

Sakura fought the urge to roll her eyes. "How typical…"

"Prepare to die!" Kameko screamed as she lunged at Sakura with water jutsu. Sakura's fists glowed blue as she dodged the attacked and hit the ground with unbelievable strength.

**XxXxXxXx**

Naruto opened eyes to see Shizune staring out of the window worriedly.

"S-Shizune…" Naruto said weakly. Shizune turned around surprised.

"You shouldn't be awake right now!" Shizune said as she tried to help Naruto up.

"I'm fine, I can do it myself." Naruto said as he got up from the bed. He removed the IV from his arms as the two felt everything shake.

"An earthquake?" They could hear people in the hallway talking.

"No, Sakura went to face Kameko." Shizune said quietly. "They took Tsunade-sama."

"WHAT!" Naruto said. "I have to help her!"

"Sakura doesn't want anyone to interfere." A voice said. The two looked to se Neji holding Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune cried.

"Neji! What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Sakura is going to stop Kameko once and for all." Neji said. "She doesn't want anyone to interfere. Kameko put a barrier up and we can't destroy it. Lee and Shikamaru are with her at the moment fighting Kabuto."

"I'm going in." Naruto said. Before anyone could stop him, he jumped out of the window.

Naruto landed in the busy streets of Konoha as he could feel large amount of chakra coming from the team 7 training grounds.

"Naruto!" Ino called out from the crowd. "What's going on?"

Naruto didn't say anything as he grabbed Ino by the wrist and dragged her with him.

"Wait! Naruto!" Ino shouted.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Shikamaru watched helplessly as Sakura fell to the ground as Kameko landed a hard kick to the stomach. Sakura coughed out blood as she quickly rolled away to avoid Kameko's deadly punch.

Damn it. There had to be something he could do. Shikamaru looked at Lee and Kabuto to see that Kabuto was having a hard time with Lee. Good. Shikamaru quickly took action as he was able to hold Kabuto in the place.

"Shikamaru Nara." Kabuto growled.

"How can we destroy the barrier and stop Kameko. What's her weakness?" Shikamaru asked.

"You cannot stop a God." Kabuto smirked. "Gods have no weakness."

"Enough with the God shit!" A voice said. "I had enough hearing that from Pain."

"Naruto-kun!" Lee said. "Ino-san!"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out.

Sakura's eyes widened when she heard his voice. She frowned. What was he doing here?

"How sweet. Your lover came to rescue you." Kameko taunted. "I wonder how much pain he would feel if I killed you right now, or how much pain you'd feel if I tore him limb to limb…"

"I-I won't let you touch him." Sakura said getting up slowly. Inside she was thinking of any plan. Kameko was stronger than she thought.

"Using the Angel's tears for goodness isn't going to help you dear. You have to use it with the will to kill. You don't even know how to use it. Let me help you." Kameko smiled as Sakura heard Ino's yelp of surprise as she was pulled into the barrier.

"INO!" Shikamaru cried out. "NO! Leave her alone!"

Sakura made a move to stop her but a ring of fire trapped her inside.

"INO!" Sakura shouted. "Stop it! She didn't do anything!"

Kameko dropped Ino to the ground as she pulled out an ice sword and began to stab Ino continuously. With each cry of pain Sakura heard, the more her blood pumped with anger.

"**No! Don't let it control you. She's trying to have you taint the Angel's tear. The moment it goes black, you can't stop yourself from killing. Kameko needs the Angel's tear to be tainted in order to use the dark side of it. Your grandmother was able to keep it purified." **Inner Sakura warned.

"Sakura! Help her!" Shikamaru cried. Everyone could hear the desperation and fear in his voice.

Sakura's wings stopped the fire. Kameko smiled with glee as she noticed Sakura's white wings were starting to turn black. Sakura flew to Ino.

"Ino…" Sakura whispered.

"Forehead-girl…" Ino gave Sakura a sad smile. "You look like an angel." Ino noticed something odd. Sakura's green eyes were slowly getting dimmer and darker as well as her wings.

"Hang on Ino. I won't let you die." Sakura said as her hands had a heavenly glow as Ino's injuries were healed in no time. Sakura placed Ino in a safe barrier. She soon felt a shock of pain through her body as she fell to her knees.

"Yes! Don't fight it!" Kameko said as she kneeled down Sakura.

"Don't touch her!" Naruto shouted as he continued to bang on the barrier. He seemed unaffected by the shocks. Kameko ignored him. "Don't fight it. It's a part of you. This will give you the chance to get revenge on everyone that hurt you, that didn't believe in you."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted as he created two clones to help him make Rasegan. The clones disappeared as he made contact with the barrier. It went down as Shikamaru took the chance to take Ino.

"Get away from here." Naruto said. Soon two ninjas came and captured Kabuto. Lee followed them to back. At that moment, Sakura let out a cry as the wings on her back grew larger and bat-like. But her eyes were still the same.

"Yes!" Kameko cheered. "Now at-"Kameko's eyes widened when she felt the blade of a scythe pierced her stomach.

"Bitch…" Kameko said as she coughed out blood. '_She's fast.' _Sakura wasn't done yet.

"I won't allow it to control me. I will destroy you." Sakura said. She soon flew to Naruto and whispered to him. "Naruto, I need you to fight Kameko and weaken her. I'll prepare the seal for her."

Naruto smirked. "No problem, Sakura-chan."

Kameko got up and glared at Naruto and Sakura.

"Kameko, I'll be kicking your ass, believe it!" Naruto said as he faced his fist at her. Sakura smiled. Naruto was still the same ol' Naruto.

"That cocky attitude of yours will be your downfall!" Kameko said as she sent fire balls towards Naruto. Naruto stood still as he smacked it away from him as if it was nothing.

Sakura stood behind Naruto as she cut her palm. It stung as she could feel the warm blood trail down her wrist. Sakura drew the seal as pinkish white light emerged from the blood. She made a hand sign and began to chant softly to herself.

"Bai, Sou, Do, Ch-"Sakura's eyes widened as she looked down to her chest. A rock pike had gone through her chest.

"You honestly didn't think I wouldn't notice, did you?" Kameko smirked. Naruto turned around and was shocked to see Sakura coughing up a lot of blood as it flowed to the floor.

"Damn it." Sakura cursed as she fell to her side in pain.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto shouted as he ran to her. Sakura looked up as she quickly pushed Naruto away from her as she slapped her hands to the ground. A wall of rock blocked the fiery attack that as heading towards her.

"You dare to use some of my powers?" Kameko asked.

"They came to me. I guess you're just not worthy to have them." Sakura smirked.

Kameko growled as she ran towards Sakura with an ice sword. Sakura quickly broke it with her kick as she spun around and punched Kameko straight in the face. Kameko soon noticed that she couldn't move. "What?" Kameko looked to see Shikamaru smirking at her.

"You're still here?" Naruto said surprised.

"I had Lee take her to the hospital. I'm not leaving you two here by yourself." Shikamaru said. "Besides, I need to get her back to what she did to Ino."

"I appreciate that." Sakura said as she headed back to the seal. "But this is my fight now. I won't let you risk your life Shikamaru. Go back to Ino."

"But…" Shikamaru began to say.

"Don't worry Shikamaru. I'm here with her." Naruto said as he gave him a good guy sign.

Shikamaru smiled. "She's like a sister to me…"Shikamaru didn't have to finish his sentence as Naruto nodded. Shikamaru stared at the scene one last time before he left. Kameko could finally move her body but it was too late as Naruto shoved Rasegan to her back.

"Damn you!" Kameko said but she soon smirked.

Sakura finished the seal as she looked up. She was gripping the wound on her stomach as her eyes widened. "NARUTO!"

To Sakura, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Kameko had dispersed and all that was left was a piece of her hair. The barrier had vanished leaving Sakura confused. Suddenly, Kameko appeared right behind Naruto as her hand had pierced into his chest. Naruto screamed in pain as blood soaked his shirt and the ground. He fell to the ground as Kameko pulled her hand out harshly.

Sakura shivered with remembrance. It was like the dream she had. Sakura went to move but Naruto suddenly got up.

"What!" Kameko said surprised as she backed away from Naruto. A small coat of orange chakra wrapped around him as he punched Kameko in the face.

"The Kyuubi's chakra." Sakura whispered. '_I thought I sealed away all of the kyuubi.'_

'**I guess not'**

"Sakura-chan, don't worry about me." Naruto said. "Just finish the seal!"

Sakura was hesitant at first but nodded. Naruto made clones to grab on to Kameko so she wouldn't move. Sakura closed her eyes as she could feel her wings become pure again. The seal under her glowed once more as it shot up to the sky with a pinkish white light. Kameko could feel the burning sensation as light illuminated from under her. Chains shot up from the ground and wrapped around her, holding her in place. Naruto's clones vanished as he fell to the ground. His wound was affecting him as he lost all his chakra. The attack had hit his lungs. He couldn't breathe. His vision was becoming blurry.

"I will not be sealed!"Kameko screamed.

Sakura said nothing as a large mirror had appeared in front of Kameko. Sakura formed once last hand sign. "KAI!"

Kameko could feel herself being sucked into the mirror. "No! No! NOOOOOOOO!" Her scream echoed as the mirror shook and then suddenly stopped. The mirror floated to Sakura as she took it in her hands. The seal disappeared as the mirror changed into a red feather as it disappeared from site. Sakura looked over to Naruto see him lying face down in the dirt.

"NARUTO!" Sakura cried as she flew to him. "Naruto, wake up!" Sakura had flipped him so he could face her. His eyes were closed as she could feel his chakra fading. "No…" Sakura shook him. "Wake up. Wake up!" No response. "Naruto! Please wake up. Don't leave me. Wake up!" Tears were forming in her eyes. Sakura closed her eyes as her wings grew larger. Feathers were flying all over the area.

'**Sakura! If you use the jutsu with your condition. You'll die.' **Inner Sakura reminded her.

'_I don't care!' _Sakura told her mind. _'I need to save him'_

'**I'll try to hold back the side effects as long as I can then.'**

'_Thank you'_

Sakura closed her eyes as she bent down to kiss Naruto on the lips as her tears fell on to him.

'_Please. Let him live.'_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto woke up to blind white light. He could hear voices around him and the sound of the heart monitor.

"He's waking up!" An excited voice said. Naruto figured that was Lee.

"Thank goodness." A quiet voice said. Hinata.

"This guy is so troublesome. Someone call in Hokage-sama!" Shikamaru.

"Hopefully he can tell us what happened." Ino.

Naruto got his vision back as he saw all his friends surrounding him. "Everyone…"

"You guys did it!" Kiba said. "You guys defeated Kameko!"

"How long was I out?" Naruto asked quietly. He still couldn't believe it. He thought he died.

"It's been a two days." Kakashi explained. "Shikamaru told me that you two defeated Kameko alone. We saw a beam of light at the team seven training grounds. Yamato, Gai, and I were sent to check up on the situation. You were unconscious and lay in your own blood. Sakura was cradling you so protectively in her arms. She was bleeding a lot too. Feathers surrounded you two. Sakura recognized us as she told us to take her to the hospital immediately. Tsunade is dealing with her right now."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto got up from his bed. "How is she right now?"

"Not good." Sai stated. "She must have healed you back to life. But with the condition she was in, there must have been side effects."

"Let me see her!" Naruto said as he removed all the wires from his body and hopped of the bed.

"I'll take you to her." Ino said as she led Naruto to a room a few rooms down.

The blondes were surprised to see a smiling Sakura and a confused Hokage.

"F-Forehead-girl!" Ino said surprised.

"Ino-pig!" Sakura grinned. Ino's eyes became watery as she launched herself on to her best friend.

"I thought we'd lose you!" Ino cried. Sakura rested her cheek on Ino's head.

"It okay, Ino-chan!" Sakura smiled. "Everything will be alright now."

"Really Baa-chan?" Naruto asked. Tsunade nodded.

"I couldn't find anything wrong with her. There were no effects for using the jutsu in your condition earlier." Tsunade said. "But still take it easy and you'll be good."

"Thank you shishou." Sakura bowed her head. "Ah, that's right, the mirror!" Sakura did a hand sign as a red feather appeared in front of her. Sakura kissed it as it turned into the mirror.

"Damn you all!" Kameko screamed in the mirror. Tsunade smirked.

"Just admit defeat." Tsunade taunted. "I'll have my ANBU dispose of you."

With a snap of a finger, the door opened as an ANBU entered.

"You'll know what to do with her." Tsunade said as she handed the ANBU the mirror. The ANBU made a hand seal as Kameko and the mirror was sealed into a scroll. The ANBU nodded before leaving. "Ino, Naruto, I'll need you two to leave the room so I can finish doing the check up on Sakura."

Making sure the two blondes left, Tsunade looked at Sakura with a heartbreaking expression. "You only have a week before I let the others know."

"It's better if they don't. Let me handle this myself." Sakura said with a smile. "This is my final wish, don't tell anyone what's going on…please."

Tsunade gave Sakura one more glance before pulling her into a hug. "Alright, but if it becomes worse, I'll have to tell them."

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

The ANBU sneaked out of Konoha as he opened the scroll to reveal the mirror.

"Have you been followed?" Kameko asked.

The ANBU took off his mask as Kameko smiled.

"Of course not Kameko-sama." The ANBU said.

"That's my Kabuto." Kameko said as she began to laugh.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

"I hope everything is alright in Konoha!" Juugo said to his group. They were running through the forest. They were about five days away from Konoha. The group consisted of Sasuke, Karin, Suigetsu, and Sakura's grandma. Juugo was carrying her since Sasuke didn't want anyone slowing down the team.

"My beads stopped glowing." Karin said, examining it.

"Then there is still time." Kaede said. "With what you told me with her condition, as long as she didn't use her bloodline, she'll be fine for a while."

"And if she did?" Sasuke asked. It was silent between the five as they all looked at the elderly Haruno.

"She won't last a week." Kaede said with a sad tone. "She'd die before we get there."

"Is there anything we can do?" Suigetsu asked. He didn't want to give up hope. Sakura had become a good friend to him. She didn't judge any of them due to the fact that they were former enemies. She took them in with open arms and warm smiles. He knew Karin had become attached to Sakura in a sisterly way. Juugo, he knew, had thought of Sakura as a little sister as well. As for Sasuke, he thought of Sakura as someone special in his world. She was up there with Naruto as his best friends. Knowing how Sasuke is, that was a very special position to have. Sakura and Naruto cherished their roles as best friends very much. If Sakura was to die…well let's just say that Konoha would be flooded with tears.

Kaede looked at Karin who looked at her stomach. She didn't want to burden Karin with responsibility but she demanded to go through with it.

"There's nothing we can do but just pray that everything will be alright. But don't get your hopes up; you'll get hurt that way. You just have to accept how things will go." Kaede said.

"How can you say that?" Suigetsu asked. "We're talking about your own grandchild, and you're talking as if we're talking about the weather." Suigetsu was going to say more but stopped when Sasuke signaled him to stop.

"Sakura isn't going to die! She's too stubborn to." Sasuke said. "She'll make it."

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Sakura couldn't breathe as she tossed and held on her scream of pain. She was in her hospital room alone. Her heart was hurting as all these memories were coming to her. They, she could tell, were from her childhood till now.

"Damn it!" Sakura said as she closed her eyes, trying to make the pain go away. It really wasn't fair, she though bitterly. She's done nothing but good and yet she's the one going through this pain. Sakura's eyes opened wide as she had a flashback of Sasuke leaving her that night to Sound. She had another flashback of Naruto leaving her to train with Jiraiya. Another one was of her parents dying and Kakashi abandoning her. More and more kept coming as Sakura let out a cry.

She knew she had to bear with the pain. Just a little bit more, she told herself. If she were to die, how would her friends feel, how would Naruto feel?

Tsunade and Shizune, those two were like a mother and older sister to her. They would be very hurt.

Her friends, they would cry. They wouldn't believe it.

Kakashi, he would feel like he failed another teammate. With his history, this would be very hard on him.

Sasuke, how would he feel? Would he feel hurt? Would he shut himself away from people once more?

Naruto, he would be hurt the most. He would feel like his world ended. She couldn't die yet.

"Not yet…" Sakura whispered. She would just have to pretend she wasn't feeling all this pain.

For Konoha…

For her friends…

"For Naruto…"

**XxXxXxXxX**

Three days past as Naruto noticed that Sakura was smiling a lot more. The whole gang decided to go out to eat at Ichiraku's to celebrate Sakura leaving the hospital. He grinned to himself. Everything was how it should be. It was the first day of March as Tenten and the others were talking about her birthday coming up.

"Sakura! We should celebrate our birthdays together." Tenten said happily as she wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders.

"Sounds like a good idea!" Sakura said as she grinned. "But I think it would be better if we do it separately. More parties for this month."

"Heck yeah!" Kiba said. The gang laughed.

Sakura looked around to see everyone smiling. Naruto and Chouji began to have an eating contest while Shino watched. Ino and Shikamaru were cuddling as he was saying something to her as she laughed. Lee was talking about something youthful as Tenten and Neji listened to him. Hinata and Kiba were feeding Akamaru outside the restaurant. Sai was next to her, drawing something. She wanted to burn this moment forever in her mind.

"Hey, it looks like it's going to rain." Kiba announced to the group. "We should head out before we all get caught in it."

"Hey Forehead girl, you should sleepover tonight. We barely get to hang out anymore." Ino said. "You can borrow my clothes, so we don't have to stop at your place."

Sakura nodded her head. "Is that okay Naruto?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I'll just be at my apartment. Have a good time." Naruto kissed Sakura gently on the lips as she turned red. The group whistled and laughed as Ino pulled away a blushing Sakura.

"You two are so cute together!" Ino said as Sakura walked slowly next to her.

"Ino, I need to tell-"She noticed that Sakura was having a hard time catching up to her pace. "Oh! Am I walking to fast? You did just get out of the hospital. My bad! Let's stop somewhere. Ino noticed that they were near a familiar shrine.

"Hey, remember we used to play here when we were little?" Ino asked as two made it to the shrine. "It's been so long." Ino ran to the wooden building as she remembered a person can make a wish here. Sakura was taking her time walking to her.

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino turned around. "Let's make a wish to-"She felt a raindrop hit her as she watched Sakura fall to the ground.

"SAKURA!" Ino cried out as she ran to her friend. Sakura was violently coughing out blood. Some got on Ino but she didn't care. "What is this? I thought you got-"That's when it hit her. "You were pretending…you were pretending to be okay so people would stop worrying! Itachi's jutsu shouldn't have been that harsh on you."

"It wasn't me. It was her using her jutsu in the condition she was in." A voice said. Ino realized it was Itachi.

"What do you mean?" Ino asked.

"Sakura's body was weak to begin with. Kameko attacked her in her very own room. That was the start of her getting worse. But when I heard that she used her bloodline to save you and Naruto-kun, well it attacked as a catalyst of her death. Not only does the Angel's tear use chakra, it uses one's own life source." Itachi explained.

"I-I'm sorry, Ino-chan…" Sakura weakly said. Ino slowly got up as it started to truly rain. She looked up at the sky and started to shout.

"No…" Ino growled. Itachi had taken Sakura in his arms. "No. No. NO. You can't do this! You can't!"

"Yamanaka, yelling at the sky won't-"

"I don't care what I have to do, but I won't let her die!" Ino didn't care if she looked like she was crazy, yelling up to the sky. She was angry. God couldn't just take Sakura away from her like this. Tears were streaming down her face. The thought of losing her best friend made her want to die. "I HATE THIS!" Her shouting got louder. "SHE'S GETTING BETTER GODDAMIT. SHE'S FINALLY BLOOMED INTO A BEAUTIFUL PERSON. SHE'S DONE MORE GOOD THAN ANYONE I KNOW. SO YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE THAT LOVE HER. YOU CAN'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME! DO YOU HEAR ME! I WON'T LET YOU!" Ino fell to her knees as she began to cry, not caring if Itachi was there watching her.

"Are you done?" Itachi asked. "There's nothing else we can do. Sakura is getting worse by the day. All we can do is just be there for her until she-"

"Don't…," Ino growled. "…don't you fucking dare say it. Maybe to you Sakura is just someone in your life. But to me she's my best friend, a huge part of my life. "

"Then why are you one of the people that caused her the most pain?" Itachi asked. Ino's eyes widened as she was speechless. "It's best to take Sakura home. She's going to get worse in this rain." Itachi handed Sakura to Ino before he left.

Once Ino had reached home, she let Sakura take a warm bath before they went to bed. Ino was still crying as Sakura frowned.

"Ino-pig…" Sakura called out.

"Sakura…I'm- I'm so sorry…" Ino cried. Sakura sadly smiled as she pulled Ino closer to her.

"It's alright Ino. Really it is. I forgave you a long time ago because that's what best friends do." Sakura said as she stroke Ino's hair. It was silent between then for a few minutes before Ino spoke again.

"Are you scared?" Ino asked. It was silent again as Ino looked up at Sakura as their eyes met. Sakura's were filled with tears as she was trying not to cry.

"More than you know Ino. More than you know…"

**And end. This story is slowly ending. Maybe at least two-three more chapters and that will be it. Thank you for reading. Please be patient for my next update.**

**Love Kumiko**


	37. Chapter 37

**This is the final chapter of the story. Let's see how things will turn out.**

**Last time on Gomenasai…**

_Once Ino had reached home, she let Sakura take a warm bath before they went to bed. Ino was still crying as Sakura frowned._

"_Ino-pig…" Sakura called out._

"_Sakura…I'm- I'm so sorry…" Ino cried. Sakura sadly smiled as she pulled Ino closer to her._

"_It's alright Ino. Really it is. I forgave you a long time ago because that's what best friends do." Sakura said as she stroke Ino's hair. It was silent between then for a few minutes before Ino spoke again._

"_Are you scared?" Ino asked. It was silent again as Ino looked up at Sakura as their eyes met. Sakura's were filled with tears as she was trying not to cry._

"_More than you know Ino. More than you know…"_

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Ino woke up to see Sakura wasn't in bed. She quickly got up and found her in the kitchen making breakfast.

"**Good morning Ino-pig!"** Sakura grinned.

"G-Good-morning." Ino said wearily. She expected Sakura to be crying but she wasn't. "How are you feeling?"

"**I'm fine. Why do you ask?"** Sakura asked. Her expression looked genuinely confused. It was then she noticed the difference. Sakura's hair was darker as well as her eyes.

"Inner Sakura." Ino said.

Sakura smirked. "**Only you can tell. Sakura was emotionally unstable. So I let her rest and we switched spots for the moment. You know I'm trying everything I can to stall her death. Her body is just falling apart. To be honest, she's not going to last long."**

"How long do you think she'll have?" Ino asked trying to keep a straight face.

"**Until tomorrow." **Inner Sakura said calmly. Ino closed her eyes and tried to hold back her sob.

"You should spend the rest of the day with Naruto then." Ino said.

Inner Sakura smiled sadly. **"I know. I already contacted him earlier. He'll be meeting me here with the rest of the team around noon."**

Like she had said, the rest of Team Seven had arrived at Ino's apartment. Sakura and Inner Sakura had switched places a couple minutes ago and was back to her normal self. Kakashi and the others noticed that Sakura looked paler and more tired, but didn't comment on it.

"Is the princess ready to go?" Kakashi joked.

Sakura smiled as she nodded. Naruto grinned as he kissed her and laced his hands with hers as they left. Ino waved goodbye as she shut the door behind her. She soon sunk to the floor and cried.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

"Itadakimasu!" The whole team said as they went to the Ichiraku ramen shop. Sakura sat in the middle as Naruto and Kakashi were on her left and Sai and Yamato were on her right.

"It's been a while since the team has been together!" Yamato said happily.

"Ah." Kakashi said as he began to pull off his mask. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai watched intensely waiting to see what was under the mask.

A loud cough was heard behind Naruto as he turned his attention to Sakura who was coughing roughly.

"Hag, are you okay?" Sai asked.

"I'm fine." Sakura said weakly as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Sai narrowed his eyes when he noticed the spots of blood.

"That was good." Kakashi announced. The trio looked back to see Kakashi had finished his bowl. They missed it! Naruto looked up at Ayame to see her blushing once again and her father mumbling about good looks and masks.

"WAH! That's not fair Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto frowned.

"Too bad." Kakashi smiled. "We're going to train. Oh but before that! Naruto, wasn't there something you wanted to give Sakura?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto grinned as he pulled out a long jewelry box. Sakura's eyes widened in surprised.

"What's this?" Sakura asked.

"It's a gift from all of us." Yamato smiled.

Sakura opened the jewelry box to see a silver bracelet. There were six chains on it: A cherry blossom, a Naruto you eat with ramen, a paint brush, an Uchiha fan, an icha icha paradise book, and the Konoha leaf sign.

"They're to represent each of us." Kakashi spoke as he ruffled Sakura's hair.

Sakura's eyes got watery as she let out a smile. "Thank you."

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Kakashi and Yamato were in the front as the trio was behind. Sai couldn't help but feel weird about the blood he saw earlier. What was this feeling? He looked up at the couple to see them laughing and holding hands. Sai mentally shook his head as he smiled. He wouldn't want to ruin their moment.

"Alright!" Yamato said. "Naruto, you will be fighting against me and Kakashi. So, Sai and Sakura, that leaves you."

Sai and Sakura nodded. Naruto was excited. Finally, a challenge!

As Kakashi passed by Sai, he whispered something really quick.

"Be careful with her. Something is wrong." Kakashi said as he headed to Naruto and Yamato. Sai stared at Kakashi's back. So he noticed it too.

Sai and Sakura began to spar for the first five minutes. Sakura growled. She knew that Sai was going easy on her.

"Come on Sai!" Sakura said angrily.

"I can't ugly!" Sai said with a frowned.

"Why not? Is it because I'm weak?" Sakura yelled.

"You're already at your limit." Sai commented as calmly as he could. Sakura's eyes widened when she noticed that she was already sweating and her breathing was hard.

"Not yet…" Sakura cried as she looked over at Naruto's training. "I can't leave yet."

"What's wrong with you?" Sai asked. "I saw the blood earlier."

Sakura forced a smile. "I'm fine. Now let's go back to-"

It was like slow motion. Her body felt heavy as she saw Sai's worried expression and him calling out for Kakashi.

_Not yet…_

Naruto appeared as he was saying something to her. But she couldn't hear him. Her body had shot down.

_Please…_

She felt her eye lids close on her, but she felt warm shaking hands hold her.

_**Allow me to take over…**_

Inner Sakura woke up to the sounds of machines. She was in the hospital once again. She noticed that it was night time. Inner Sakura sighed as she heard someone enter the room.

"You're awake." It was Tsunade.

"**Tsunade."** Inner Sakura greeted.

"Inner Sakura." Tsunade nodded. "How long does she have?"

"**She pushed her limit today when she spared against Sai."** Inner Sakura said**. "I don't know how long she has now. Where's-?"**

"I sent Naruto and the others home." Tsunade said. "They were really worried."

"**Tsunade. I have a request. This is how we can save the Angel's tears."** Inner Sakura said**. "I'm sorry to ask of you to do this since you when through it before. You know what I'm talking about."**

Tsunade's eyes widened as she touched her stomach. It was one of the reasons why she and Shizune left the village many years ago. "I-I can't go through-"

"**You don't have to. There can be someone else who can."** Inner Sakura said. Tsunade soon remembered the scroll Karin had gotten from the village leader not so long ago.

"There is…" Tsunade said. She looked around before sighing. "We'll wait until midnight. I will have Shizune fetch you and bring you out of the village. But last time this happened, she didn't have the bloodline with her."

"**That's because you didn't separate the two of them. I hold the bloodline, Sakura does not."** She explained. **"I can't control this body much longer. Her body is too weak."**

Tsunade was already in tears. "I-I understand." She choked back a sob.

"**You know. Sakura had always thought of you as a mother. She loves you very much."** Inner Sakura smiled**. "She was glad to have met you."**

Tsunade took her hand and squeezed it. "Thank you…" She said as the tears fell. Tsunade soon left the room as she allowed Inner Sakura to rest. A couple hours later, she guessed it was midnight because Shizune had entered her room. She was wearing a black cloak.

"Sakura-san, are you ready?" Shizune asked as she removed all the tubes from Sakura. Inner Sakura nodded. Shizune didn't like how Sakura looked. Her cheeks were a bit hallowed and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked paler than Sai.

"**We have to hurry. I'm losing control of her body. I can't hold back the effects anymore." **Inner Sakura warned. Shizune nodded as she allowed Inner Sakura to walk on her feet. She wasn't able to stand by herself anymore. She was losing the ability to hold herself up. Shizune frowned as she carried Sakura in her arms. She was really light. Lighter than usual and that scared her. Inner Sakura wrapped her weak arms around Shizune's neck as she made a run for it out the window. She had to hurry. They could not afford to get caught.

"S-Shizune…" Sakura said. Shizune looked back to see Sakura's eye and hair color fading from dark to normal. Inner Sakura was losing control.

"Hang on Sakura. We're almost there." Shizune cried silently as she added more chakra to her feet. Finally they made it to the Hokage tower where Tsunade was waiting for her.

"Shizune, we have to do this outside Konoha." Tsunade said as she was gathering things from her desk. The trio sneaked past the guards and ran to the heavy forest.

"Are you prepared for this?" Tsunade asked.

"**Hur-**hurry, Shishou." Sakura asked. Inner Sakura was gone.

"Sakura-san, when Tsunade-sama does this jutsu, your body will be split into two. We will be able to make a form for Inner Sakura and she will be carrying the bloodline. You will die regularly." Shizune explained. She was in tears.

Sakura started to cry. "I'm ready."

Tsunade nodded as she bit her thumb and made a few hand seals before touching the ground. Sakura sat across from Tsunade as a circle of blood surrounded them. It began to glow a pink light. Their hairs were lifting up as well as the bracelet on Sakura's left hand. Tsunade lifted her shaking right hand to Sakura's head. Her hand had covered Sakura's eyes from her sight. Tsunade closed her eyes and allowed her chakra to do its magic.

Sakura's eyes widened as memories from her childhood until now came to her. After a couple minutes, Sakura began to glow pink as well. Tsunade could feel her warm tears.

"S-Shishou, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Sakura was apologizing for all the times she was weak.

Tsunade broke down crying as her chakra blasted out of her hands as Sakura fell back. "No. I'm sorry." Tsunade whispered before Sakura had let darkness consumed her. Shizune quickly caught her as she cradled Sakura in her arms, sobbing. Tsunade numbly watched as a body was being formed next to Sakura. The jutsu worked. They saved the bloodline, but with a price. A painful price.

"SAKURA!" Tsunade cried as she pulled Sakura's body to her bosom.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Naruto had stretched as he had awakened. It was early morning as he looked outside his window. He was surprised to see Ino running towards the hospital in her pajamas. Neji and Shikamaru were heading towards the gates with Iruka-sensei. Naruto quickly got dressed as he went down.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked out loud.

"It's her teammate." Naruto heard one of the civilians say.

"It looks like he doesn't have a clue. The poor thing." Another said.

"N-Naruto-kun!" A voice called out. Naruto turned around to see Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, Kurenai, and her baby son.

"You guys! What's going on? Everyone seems to be worried." Naruto frowned. He couldn't help but have a weird feeling in his stomach.

"W-We were wondering too. Neji-niisan left in a hurry after Shikamaru came over to the compound. Shikamaru seemed distraught. When Neji asked what was going on, Shikamaru just pulled him out of the house." Hinata said. "I hope it isn't anything terrible."

"I bumped into Kakashi earlier. He wanted you to go get Sai and meet him and the hospital." Kurenai said with a frowned. "He looked torn apart."

Naruto's eyes widened. Sakura was in the hospital. Did something…

"I need to get Sai." Naruto said as he ran towards Sai's apartment.

"Shino, go with him." Kurenai ordered. Shino nodded as he chased after Naruto.

The two reached Sai's apartment as Naruto knocked on the door. Sai opened it a few minutes later. His hands were covered in paint, showing that he was painting.

"Come in." Sai said as he opened the door wider for the two to enter. Naruto looked past Sai to see what he was working on. He was surprised to see a painting of Sakura. It was pretty good, yet he could tell he hadn't finished it yet.

"We have to go to the hospital." Naruto said. "So hurry up and change." Sai nodded and after that, they were heading towards the hospital. They were running on the roofs as they could see what was going on. Naruto could see Tenten and Lee sprinting to the hospital with Gai-sensei following after them. They passed by the gates to see Shikamaru yelling at one of the ANBU as Neji was holding him back. Iruka was trying to calm him down. They decided to stop and see what was going on.

"Stop lying to me!" Shikamaru screamed. The ANBU and the two medics behind him waited for Shikamaru to calm down.

"I'm sorry Nara." One of them said. "If you excuse me, we have to go to the hospital immediately."

"Shikamaru! Neji! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out. Shikamaru and Neji looked at Naruto with an expression of hurt. For Neji to have an expression like that on his face, something was terribly wrong.

"Uzumaki." The ANBU called out. "My condolences…" The ANBU signaled the medics to carrying on moving. It was then that Naruto noticed the stretcher they were holding. It was a small body covered over a white sheet. The three past by as Naruto turned his attention back to Shikamaru and Neji. Before he could ask questions, a sound of chains hit his ear. Looking back at the medics, he watched as the left hand of the body had fallen out of the stretcher. His eyes widened with horror. On the pale left hand was a silver bracelet with six chains on it. The medics soon disappeared at the ANBU transported them to the hospital.

"Naruto…" Shino began to say. He already knew what was going on.

Naruto and Sai angrily ran to the hospital.

"Naruto…" Sai said. He was serious. "That body they were carrying was Sakura wasn't it."

Naruto didn't say anything as they finally made it to the hospital. It was crazy. Ino was in her pajamas ordering the nurses around. Tsunade and Shizune were nowhere to be seen. Naruto looked closely to see Ino was in tears. She must have saw Sakura already.

"Ino." Naruto called out. Ino saw the look on Naruto's face.

"She's the emergency room. Her body was found by an ANBU on his way back from a mission. For some reason, she was outside of the village. Tsunade called me and Shikamaru in. She wanted me to get ready in the hospital and for Shikamaru to get Neji and go to the gate. I didn't know what was going on. I'm going in. When the medics brought her in, she looked like she was dead, but she had a pulse. We're working on that chance we have." Ino said as she had a look of determination.

"Please help her…" Naruto told her. Ino nodded as she went through the double doors.

To Naruto it seem like hours went by. The whole gang had arrived and was in the waiting room. Soon a nurse had rushed out of the E.R. and later came back with Tsunade, Shizune, Kotetsu and Izumo who ran back in. This had everyone worried. A few minutes later, yelling was heard.

"Let me go!" Shikamaru had gotten up. That was Ino's voice. Shikamaru entered the E.R. as everyone else followed.

"Yamanaka, you did all that you could." Izumo said.

"I SAID LET ME GO!" Ino screeched. "SHE'S DYING! YOU CAN'T LET HER DIE!"

"We have to bring you out. Hokage's orders." Kotetsu said. He stopped when he saw their audience.

"Ino." Tenten called out. Ino looked at her friend with bloodshot eyes. "Sakura…"

Ino's eyes widened as she broke down sobbing. Tenten covered her mouth as her own tears appeared.

Hinata let out a horrified gasp as Kiba held her in his arms. He was trying not to cry as well. Akamaru let out sad howl. Shino was silent as he covered his eyes with his hand. Lee sank to the floor, not believing what was happening. Neji looked away as he closed his eyes. Shikamaru fell to the ground. His back was against the wall as he stared at the bed where his dead friend was laying on. Chouji sat down next to Shikamaru and wrapped hid his face with his legs as he hugged his knees. Gai for once was silent. Iruka and Kurenai looked at Kakashi to see him lower his head. Yamato's body was shaking as he went to Sakura's body and touched it. He quickly took his hand back. Her body was ice cold. Sai didn't know what to feel. His body was shaking as well. He didn't feel good. He felt pain in his heart and his cheeks were wet, but he didn't know why. He wiped the wetness away, but more kept coming. Running was heard down the hall. Tsunade looked to see Itachi running into the room with Sasuke and his team behind him. Surprisingly Sakura's grandma was with them.

"No!" Juugo said with a frowned.

"Damn it! We were too late!" Suigetsu said.

Karin just stared at Sakura's body as she cried. Suigetsu took Karin into an embrace.

Sasuke rested his head on the door as he allowed himself to cry silently. Itachi frowned as he watched his brother cry. Kaede went to Tsunade and pulled her out of the room.

Naruto had finally moved as everyone watched him. He slowly went up to Sakura and stared down at her. Her face looked peaceful. She didn't look like she was in pain anymore. She was paler than Sai. He expected her to open her green eyes and smile at him again, but she didn't. He held her hand and noticed the difference in temperature. "Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered. He fell to his knees. "S-Sa-Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto broke down crying. Iruka-sensei pulled Naruto up to him and grabbed him into an embrace.

Medics covered Sakura's body with the white cover again. It was quiet as Sakura's body was taken out of the room. Tsunade and Kaede came back as Tsunade cleared her throat. "The funeral is decided. It will take place five days from now." Tenten stiffened. That was a day before her birthday.

**XxXxXxXxX**

Konoha were in shock when they heard the news of the death of the Hokage's apprentice. Everyone that had known Sakura was going to attend the funeral. Kisame had permission to attend the funeral with Gai and Genma watching him.

Akamaru went up to Kiba to see how he was doing. Hana was in his room trying to calm him down,

"It's not fair!" Kiba growled as tears streamed down his face. "I thought she was getting better."

"It's okay Kiba. She's in a better place now, away from all the bad things in the world. She wouldn't want you to be sad over her death." Hana said as she stroked her brother's hair. Akamaru frowned as Kiba went up and hugged him.

"Its okay Akamaru." Kiba cried on his fur. "It's okay to cry!"

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Shino was eating dinner with his family.

"Would you like more rice?" Shino's mom asked him. Shino said nothing. Her eyes widened when she noticed that her son was actually crying.

"Oh Shino!" His mom said as she got up from her seat and hugged him. Shino just covered her face again as he silently cried. His dad watched the scene with a frown. This Sakura girl must have been something special if she was able to stir up an emotion from his son.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Chouji was in his room as he stared at the ceiling numbly.

"Hello my son!"Chouza greeted Chouji as he walked in. "Your mom wants to try this new BBQ restaurant that opened. Let's get ready and check it out!"

"I'm not hungry father…" Chouji said as he never moved from his spot. Chouza's eyes widened. His son was actually rejecting food?

"I heard what happened from Inoichi. I'm sorry to hear what happened to your friend. She was a great person." Chouza said.

"Then why did she have to die?" Chouji asked. Chouza was speechless.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Gai offered to train Tenten and Lee. Neji was busy with the clan business.

"Let's make this fun. You youthful couple are against me!" Gai announced. Tenten and Lee quietly nodded as they got in position. Gai noticed that their bodies were there but their minds weren't. He had to find a way to make them fight.

"I don't know why you guys are grieving so long. She wasn't anything special!" Gai said. _Forgive me for lying. _Tenten and Lee looked up at Gai with a glare.

"How can you say that?" Tenten growled as she pulled out a scroll.

"Sakura-san was a beautiful person. She was strong and kind!" Lee shouted. "She started as a ninja from parents with no bloodline and with hard work and determination Sakura-san was able to be the best of the very best."

"She didn't deserve to die!" Tenten shouted as her weapons were floating in the air. She angrily shot them all at Gai. Gai tried to dodge it but was stopped when Lee appeared and punched him in the stomach. "She wouldn't want us to be sad over her death!" Lee said.

"Of course she wouldn't. So take her death as a way to get stronger. Sakura died as a hero. She's the perfect example of youth." Gai said with a smile.

"You tricked us." Tenten said with a frowned.

"Come on! If we don't take training seriously, we won't be able to catch up to Sakura in strength!" Gai said as he started to run towards the sun.

"YES GAI-SENSEI!" Lee said as he pulled Tenten and started to run after their sensei.

**XxXxXxXxXxXxX**

Kakashi opened his eyes as he looked at his clock in the room. It was past 8 am. It had been two days since Sakura was announced dead. He failed another teammate. He sighed deeply as he stared at the picture of team seven on his headboard. He traced the smiling face of Sakura. He closed his eyes. He'd never see her smile at him again.

"Sakura…" Kakashi said as he covered his face with his hands. The doorbell rang as he slowly went to his door. He opened it to reveal Kurenai and Kukai.

"How are you Hatake?" Kurenai asked.

"He's looking more like Asuma each day." Kakashi said.

"Please don't change the subject. Yamato wanted me to fetch you to clean out Sakura's apartment. He's there right now with Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke. I'm sorry for your loss. She's was a wonderful student." Kurenai said. Kakashi had gotten ready and the two left his apartment and headed to Sakura's. Everyone step was painful to him.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, when you went back to ANBU and the Hokage was busy, Sakura came to me and asked me to train her in Genjutsu. I was surprised to see how good she was already, so I taught her everything I knew." Kurenai smiled in memory. "She was so happy."

"Thank you for being there for her when I didn't. I'm a bad sensei. I let her down. She must have hated me so much for abandoning her." Kakashi mumbled.

Kurenai frowned. "That's not true, she loved you. I'd take her out once in a while and she'd tell me all the story of your team. She said she was happy to have you as a sensei, even if you were late and a bad liar." Kakashi let out a small chuckle. "If she had the chance to redo everything in her life, she said she'd never change having you as a sensei and being a part of team seven, no matter how much pain she went through. She loved you guys that much."

The two finally made is as Kurenai sighed. Kakashi's eyes darkened as he saw Ino walking up the steps to his student's apartment. "Well I have to go and meet up with Shizune. She's been locked up in her home crying. It's so bad that not even Genma can get her to come out."Kurenai patted Kakashi on the left shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself." With that said, she took off. Kakashi watched numbly as Kurenai disappeared from sight.

Kakashi entered the apartment to see the living room filled with boxes. The couches, tables, and chairs were removed already. He looked to see that Naruto hadn't arrived yet. Everyone else was sitting on the floor silently. No one wanted to break the tension. They still couldn't believe it. They still couldn't believe she was gone. The sound of the front door opening was heard as everyone looked to see Naruto silently entering.

"Sorry I'm late…" He said in a monotone voice.

"Well, since everyone is here now, we can start cleaning this place up." Yamato said taking leadership. Obviously his sempai was in no condition.

"I call her bedroom." Ino said, getting up and carrying a large box with her.

"I'll help as well." Naruto said. Ino nodded as they headed to her room.

"I'll be cleaning the living room then." Sai said.

"Kakashi-sempai and I will be doing the kitchen." Yamato said.

"I guess I'll clean the bathroom then help clean the extra room." Sasuke said as he disappeared into the bathroom with a box.

For the next few hours, all that could be heard was the sound of things being placed in the boxes. Naruto sighed as Ino had finished putting Sakura's clothes away in the box. She stopped when she spotted a familiar red ribbon. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to hold back a sob.

"Ino?" Naruto called out.

"T-This was the ribbon I gave her when we first became friends. This was the symbol of our friendship." Ino allowed herself to cry. "She can't be gone! I don't want to think that I won't be able to see her anymore. I don't want to grow old without her by my side. I don't want to forget her! WHY!"

Naruto gulped. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He picked up a team seven picture as he traced over Sakura's face. "Then don't!" Naruto said. Naruto slid to the floor as the picture lay on his lap. He covered his face on his legs and let out all that he was keeping in. Ino's eyes widened as she stared at Naruto. He was completely in love with her, ever since they were kids. When she finally loved him back, she was taken away from him. Ino moved up to her friend and hugged him.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered as she too cried with him.

Sasuke, who had finished cleaning the bathroom, frowned when he heard his blond friends crying in Sakura's room. This was all wrong. Sakura shouldn't be dead. Cleaning out her apartment felt wrong. He was too late into finding a cure. Sakura depended on him to help her. It was his way to amend for his mistakes, for him to make up for all the hurt he had caused. She was gone and it was his fault because he was too late. He was always too late.

Sai had finished cleaning half the room as he stopped in front of the wall with all the pictures that held dear memories for Sakura. He remembered when he first came to Sakura's house and saw this. His mind replayed the memory in his mind. He could faintly see Sakura talking to him about the pictures on her wall.

_"I hope I didn't take too long" Sakura said._

_"I was just looking at the pictures, you have a lot around your house" Sai commented. Sakura laughed._

_"Every picture has a memory I treasure dearly." Sakura said._

"Ugly…why did you have to go and die?" Sai growled quietly as he felt something touch wet on his face. Why was his face wet? "What is this?" Sai asked as he wiped them away.

"It's called crying stupid." Sasuke said as he came into the living room with two boxes: One from the bathroom and another from the extra room in the apartment. Sasuke looked at the pictures on the wall. Sai watched as Sasuke faintly smiled at some.

"Do you regret it?" Sai asked. Sasuke looked at him signaling he didn't understand his replacement's question. "Do you regret leaving Sakura? Do you blame yourself?"

"If I didn't leave, I wonder if she would have been the same woman she was now." Sasuke said as he began to take down the pictures. Itachi had dropped by an hour later and looked at everyone's expressions. They were filled of hurt and sadness. It looked like they lost the reason to live.

'_Sakura, you don't know how much of an effect you have on the village.'_ Itachi thought numbly. On his way there, no one was on the streets. People were mourning inside their homes. He had just drunk his sadness away with Kisame earlier. Kisame tried to cheer his friend up but failed.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Shikaku sighed as he waited for his son to make the next move on their game. He was getting a déjà vu feeling at this moment.

"I heard about the loss of your friend from Chouza." Shikaku said as he looked at Shikamaru's expression. His son had been silent at home since the announcement of his friend's death. When Asuma died, Shikamaru threw a fit and cried each day. "How is Ino doing? Sakura was best friends with her, wasn't she?" Shikamaru didn't answer.

Shikaku sighed and was about to give up talking to his son when he spoke.

"It's not fair." Shikamaru whispered. "It's not fair! Why did she have to die?"

"It's too troublesome to think about it." Shikaku said. Shikamaru growled as he tossed the board game to the floor. Here was the fit!

"It was my fault! I shouldn't have let go of her on that mission. I shouldn't have let her go back to that base alone. She was hurting so much. She looked up to me like a brother and I let her down in her time of need. We couldn't help her! I couldn't save her!" Shikamaru pounded his fist to the wall as he let out a cry. Yoshino, who was in the other room, covered her mouth. This was all too much to see. The entire village seemed to have gone through a great depression. She had never properly met this Sakura Haruno, but she has heard of her and seen her a few times. She wished she could have gotten to know her better.

**XxXxXxXxX**

It was the day of the funeral as everyone was dressed up in black. People from all over the allied nations came to see the burial of Sakura Haruno. Team seven was standing next to the casket. Ino silently joined them as Naruto came to speak. Tsunade stood next to him as support.

"I'm not here to give praise to Sakura-chan…" Naruto said numbly. "Instead, I'd like to talk about her actions. As you guys probably know, Sakura-chan had a crazy temper. I knew that especially since we were genin." A few laughs appeared. "Ever since we were little, she'd beat the crap out of me and swoon over Teme. But, be honest, what girl didn't. Our team was close even if we had our differences here and there. I remember during mission, we'd all sleep in our sleeping bags. Sakura-chan would be in the middle of Sasuke and me. Kakashi would be nearby. It was then I realized that Sakura-chan would snore in her sleep. It sounded like something horrible." Sasuke let out a small snort.

"That's an understatement…" Sasuke commented. The crowed chuckled a bit.

"You'd think that's funny but towards the end of her life, when her health was at its worse, this little sound let me know that Sakura-chan was still alive." Naruto said. All was quiet as people felt the urge to cry. The look Naruto had on his face made people want to cry for him. "What I wouldn't give to feel her painful punches. What I wouldn't give just to hear her crazy snores before I sleep. In the end, it's these small things that you remember little imperfections? That made them perfect...for you. So to everyone here, I hope one day you all find yourselves beautiful life partners who are as beautifully imperfect as Sakura-chan was...to me."

Everyone was silent as they let Naruto's words reach them. That was the most touching thing they ever heard. The girls were already crying as the boys looked at Naruto with new found respect.

"Thank you Naruto…" Tsunade said taking the stage. "We will begin with the burial." Sakura's casket was opened, revealing the beautiful girl that was in an eternal slumber. One by one, people went and left white roses for her. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo hadn't showed up to the funeral as well as Sakura's own grandma. Karin couldn't handle the death and left the village to forget. Kaede couldn't bear to see her last family member buried. Ino ended up crying on top of the casket as a crying Hinata and teary Temari was trying to calm her down.

"How could you leave me Forehead? Sakura!" Ino bawled. Tenten watched the scene far away as she covered her mouth in an attempt to stop crying. Naruto watched with an indescribable expression. Ino's crying over Sakura's casket was forever imprinted in his mind.

**XxXxXxXxXxX**

Tsunade sighed as she stared at all the new paper work that appeared on her desk. It seems that two days after the funeral, it was reported that Sai was seen throwing pink and green paint outside his apartment as he let his emotions get to him and ruin his painting of Sakura which he later placed the picture on his wall. Yesterday, Tenten was too depressed to celebrate her birthday and had sent anyone that brought up Sakura to her in the hospital, which was really troublesome for him.

Later that night, it was stated that Hinata Hyuga had stolen forbidden scrolls from her office and tried to find a way to bring Sakura back. What she didn't know was that it needed a life for a life. If Neji hadn't found her in time, Hinata would have been dead. From what the cousins reported, Hinata made a seal on the floor of her room with her own blood. It was said that Neji saw the figure of Sakura walking in the Hyuga compound. It was heading to where Hinata was. He ran to Hinata's room and quickly messed up the circle of blood as Sakura's figure had disappeared. She had Anko check Sakura's grave the next day to see that it seemed like someone had been messing with it.

Tsunade had to put her plan into action soon. She had to announce her next successor.

**XxXxXxXxX**

It was March 28. Twenty three days had passed since the funeral and things were beginning to become normal again. People were gathering around the Hokage tower. News of Tsunade stepping down from her role as Hokage was a shocker. Rumors went around saying that since she lost her apprentice, she couldn't handle being in the village and wanted to forget. Everyone knew that Sakura was like a daughter to their Hokage.

"Thank you everyone for coming!" Tsunade's strong voice echoed. "As you may have heard, I will be stepping down from title of Hokage and passing it to someone who is very deserving of it. He had done so much for the village and had brought change and hopes to many people. I present to you your next Hokage…UZUMAKI NARUTO!" Naruto headed to where Tsunade was standing. People were cheering on for him. Naruto's eyes widened at everyone's reaction. He felt like he was going to cry. Shikamaru was up on stage with him as he was announced as the village's new strategist.

People were soon distracted when the cherry blossoms in Konoha had bloomed and floated around in the air. Naruto slowly reached up to catch one. A cherry blossom was what Sakura's name meant. How ironic, the cherry blossoms bloomed on the day of Sakura's birthday.

"_Naruto…"_

Naruto had let go of the petal and watched it float over the crowd. There was a small group of people behind the crowd. Naruto was surprised to see Jiraiya giving him thumbs up. The Third Hokage and Asuma were with Jiraiya too. They both smiled at Naruto while Asuma went and looked somewhere else. There was a couple standing next to Jiraiya. It was the fourth Hokage and his wife. He was smiling proudly at him as Kushina was crying tears of joy. Her eyes widened as she turned around and was pulling someone towards her. Naruto felt his heart beat faster. It was no other than Sakura. Sakura looked around as if lost. When Kushina pointed towards Naruto, Sakura's eyes met with his. Her green eyes widened as she continued to stare at him. She soon smiled.

"_I love you."_

The ghosts that visited were slowly leaving. The third Hokage looked over to his son who was hovering over Kurenai and Kukai. He had kissed her on the forehead as he stared at his son. Kurenai had slowly touched her forehead as if she felt something. Asuma soon flew over to Shikamaru and patted his head before heading back down to the third Hokage. They soon turned their backs to Naruto and faded away. Jiraiya mouthed 'congrats' before following after his sensei. His parents and Sakura were left. His parents had flown over to him giving him a hug and kiss on the forehead. Naruto could feel their ghostly touches and cried. Kushina pulled Sakura up with them as Sakura was crying. His parents were already gone.

"Gomenasai Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered to her. Sakura shook her head with a smile as she cupped his face lovingly.

'_It's alright. I'm in a better place now. I'll be watching over you and everyone else always.'_

Sakura slowly faded away like everyone else. Naruto closed his eyes.

Thank you Sakura-chan…

IT'S OVER! Thank you so much for sticking to this story. If you wanted more, don't worry, there will be a sequel because obviously there are things that weren't clear such as Karin's part and Kameko's escape. I don't know when I will start making it. But I'll update this story again to give out the news. I hoped you guys enjoyed the story.

-Kumiko


	38. THE SEQUEL HAS BEEN MADE!

The sequel for Gomenasai is now up! It is called Simple and Clean. All the answers you had in this story will be answered in the next. I hope you guys will enjoy it.

Love Kumiko


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